Effects of ozone and ultraviolet radiation treatments on the infectivity of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts

Clinical toxoplasmosis in humans has been epidemiologically linked to the consumption of drinking water contaminated by Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. We evaluated killing of T. gondii oocysts after ultraviolet (UV) or ozone treatments by bioassay in mice and/or cell culture. A 4-log inactivation of the oocyst/sporozoite infectivity was obtained for UV fluences >20 mJ cm−2. In contrast, oocysts were not inactivated by ozone with an exposure (Ct) up to 9.4 mg min l−1 in water at 20 °C. In conclusion, UV treatment can be an effective disinfection method to inactivate T. gondii oocysts in drinking water, but ozone did not show promise in this research.