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Obtaining Highly Purified Toxoplasma gondii Oocysts by a Discontinuous Cesium Chloride Gradient
Published on: November 3, 2009
Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management
Katrin Hartmann1, Diane Addie, Sándor Belák
1European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases. Hartmann@uni-muenchen.de
Overview:
Toxoplasma gondii infection is common in cats, but the clinical disease is rare. Up to 50% of cats, especially free-roaming ones, have antibodies indicating infection and the presence of cystic stages.
Disease Signs:
Clinical signs only appear in few cats when they become immunosuppressed - in these situations cystic stages can be reactivated. Commonly affected are the central nervous system (CNS), muscles, lungs and eyes. HUMAN INFECTION: Cats can pose a risk for humans when they shed oocysts. However, this happens only once in their lifetime, usually only for 3-10 days after ingestion of tissue cysts. Thus, cats that have antibodies to T gondii no longer shed oocysts, and do not pose a risk to humans.
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