Acute Toxoplasma Dissemination With Encephalitis in the Era of Biological Therapies

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018 Oct 17;5(11):ofy259. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofy259. eCollection 2018 Nov.

Abstract

We report the case of a 65-year-old patient with pseudolymphoma who developed acute toxoplasmosis following 6 cycles of rituximab and bendamustine therapy. Acute toxoplasmosis in the setting of biological response modifiers, rather than reactivation, is a unique unreported infection. The patient developed severe disease with multi-organ involvement, including retinitis, myocarditis, and myositis. We discuss the clinical findings, epidemiology, and laboratory diagnosis.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; biological therapy; encephalitis; rituximab; toxoplasmosis; wild boar.