Toxoplasmosis is one of the major foodborne parasitic diseases in Germany, with 49% of its population chronically infected with its causative agent, Toxoplasma gondii. Although the acute disease is usually benign in immunocompetent individuals, it is a threat for immunocompromised patients as well as for fetuses of seronegative mothers. As a result of infection, congenital and ocular toxoplasmosis can have serious lifelong consequences. Here I will highlight the epidemiologic situation, from its past in the two separate parts of Germany, to its unification 30 years ago and up to the present day. The main identified risk factor for infection in Germany is thought to be the consumption of undercooked or raw meat or sausages. However, the relative impact of this risky eating habit as well as that of other risk factors are changing and are discussed and compared to the situation in the Netherlands. Finally, the importance of robust and efficient high-throughput serological assays for obtaining reliable epidemiological data, on which public health decisions can be made, is highlighted. The potential of bead-based multiplex assays, which allow the incorporation of multiple antigens with different analytical properties and thus yield additional information, are described in this context. It illustrates the interdependence of new analytic assay developments and sound epidemiology, a foundation that decades-old data from Germany did not have.

弓形虫病是德国主要的食源性寄生虫病之一，49%的人口长期感染其病原体弓形虫。尽管这种急性疾病在免疫功能正常的个体中通常是良性的，但它对免疫功能低下的患者以及血清阴性母亲的胎儿构成威胁。由于感染，先天性和眼部弓形虫病可能会造成严重的终生后果。在这里，我将重点介绍从过去德国两个不同地区的流行病学情况，到30年前德国统一到现在的流行病学情况。德国确定的主要感染风险因素被认为是食用未煮熟或生的肉或香肠。然而，这种危险饮食习惯以及其他风险因素的相对影响正在发生变化，并与荷兰的情况进行了讨论和比较。最后，强调了稳健、高效的高通量血清学检测对于获得可靠的流行病学数据的重要性，并据此做出公共卫生决策。本文描述了基于微珠的多重检测的潜力，该检测允许合并具有不同分析特性的多种抗原，从而产生额外的信息。它说明了新的分析检测发展和健全的流行病学之间的相互依赖性，这是德国几十年前的数据所不具备的基础。