Abstract
INFECTION with Toxoplasma gondii is prevalent in man and animals. It can be acquired congenially by the foetus from an infected mother1, but also throughout life by eating under-cooked meat2 or by contact with contaminated faeces of cats3. All forms of Toxoplasma lose their infectivity quickly when exposed to the environment, with the exception of oocysts shed in feline faeces. These are remarkably resistant to ordinary environmental influences and can survive in most soil for several months4. In the acute phase of infection cats may shed several million oocysts in 1–2 weeks. It has been assumed that after the acute phase, chronically infected cats are safe as pets5 since they have acquired immunity and oocysts seldom pass in the faeces6–8. I report here the reshedding of T. gondii oocysts by chronically infected cats in the absence of exogenous reinfection.
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DUBEY, J. Reshedding of Toxoplasma oocysts by chronically infected cats. Nature 262, 213–214 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/262213a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/262213a0
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