Ocular toxoplasmosis: a 50th anniversary tribute to the contributions of Helenor Campbell Wilder Foerster.

In 1952, Helenor Campbell Wilder (later Helenor Campbell Wilder Foerster) confirmed the growing suspicion that Toxoplasma gondii was a cause of uveitis in otherwise healthy adults by identifying the presence of parasites in eyes enucleated because of severe intraocular inflammation. Ocular toxoplasmosis was previously known to occur only in newborns with congenital T gondii infection. Her report ushered in a new era in the field of uveitis in which toxoplasmosis, rather than tuberculosis, was confirmed to be the most common cause of retinochoroiditis. Fifty years later, issues raised in her landmark publication are still being investigated.