[Preliminary application of PCR to curative effect assessment of chemotherapy against experimental acute infection of Toxoplasma gondii in mice].

Treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfamethoxazolum combination administered via intragastric route, was started 2 hours after each mouse received an intraperitoneal injection of a lethal inoculum of 5 x 10(3) tachyzoites of RH strain toxoplasma gondii and the therapy was lasted for 52 days. Combined therapy of the two drugs resulted in 83.3% survival rate in mice. PCR and the conventional mouse inoculation (MI) were compared for their validity as an curative effect assessing method. The positive rates of PCR and MI were 63.64% and 18.18%, respectively. The results suggest that PCR can be used in studies involving drug screening and curative effect assessment of anti-Toxoplasma chemotherapy in vivo. In addition, the results indicated that longer course of treatment against toxoplasmosis is required in clinical practice.