Immunopathology & Immunotherapy

Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT), due to protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is a potential complication of both acquired and congenital infection, leading to visual impairment in numerous countries and being responsible for 30 to 50% of uveitis cases in immunocompetent individuals. In this study we confirmed the presence of more severe ocular toxoplasmosis in a tropical setting of Colombia, when compared to France. The main hypothesis for these clinical differences is based on the idea that severe disease in humans may result from poor host adaptation to neotropical zoonotic strains of T. gondii Indeed, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that South American strains may cause more severe OT due to an inhibition of the intraocular protective immune response.