Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Toxoplasma infection in cats - prevention and care guidelines
By Hartmann, Katrin et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2013·European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases. Hartmann@uni-muenchen.de·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats: ABCD guidelines on prevention and management.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Toxoplasma gondii is a common infection in cats, but it usually doesn't cause any noticeable illness. About half of cats, especially those that roam outside, have been exposed to this parasite and show signs of past infection. Symptoms only appear in a small number of cats, typically when their immune system is weakened, and can affect areas like the brain, muscles, lungs, and eyes. While cats can spread the infection to humans by shedding tiny eggs in their feces, this only happens once in their lifetime and usually for a short period after they eat infected tissue. If a cat has antibodies to T. gondii, it means they are no longer shedding these eggs and do not pose a risk to people.
Abstract
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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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23813830/