Given Aotearoa’s high cat-ownership rates, it has a high prevalence of toxoplasmosis

Awareness of the harm ocular toxoplasmosis can do, as well as more funding, is sorely needed to improve outcomes for people with the disease, said Otago University researcher and ophthalmologist Dr Francesc March de Ribot.

A multidisciplinary team led by Dr March de Ribot and Otago University’s parasitologist Professor Bruce Russell, with clinical involvement from Auckland University researcher and uveitis specialist Dr Rachael Niederer, is exploring innovative therapies targeting both parasite replication and inflammation to make inroads into what they say is an overlooked disease. Current treatments, including pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine and corticosteroids, have significant limitations, said Dr Niederer. “These therapies can cause severe side effects, fail to target dormant parasite forms and do not fully prevent recurrent inflammation.”

The research team reported nearly 40% of New Zealanders have been exposed to the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, with an estimated 7% (approximately 364,000 people) experiencing ocular involvement. Among them, 10,000 suffer from visual impairment and 1,000 face recurrent episodes each year, they said.

“With one of the highest rates of cat ownership worldwide (50 cats per 100 people), New Zealand has a high prevalence of toxoplasmosis. Ocular toxoplasmosis is the leading cause of infectious posterior uveitis worldwide and a significant contributor to vision loss in New Zealand,” said Dr March de Ribot, adding that a recent application for a $900,000 grant over three years to continue their work was rejected by the Royal Society Te Apārangi’s Marsden Fund.