Toxoplasmosis

Reservoir

• Feline

  • CDC - DPDx - Toxoplasmosis

Portal of exit

• Fecal oocysts

  • CDC - DPDx - Toxoplasmosis 

Mode of transmission

• Eating contaminated undercooked meat or shellfish

• Eating contaminated undercooked meat or shellfish without washing your hands after handling said food

• Drinking water that’s contaminated with toxoplasmosis

• Drinking unpasteurized goat milk

• Children playing in sandboxes that could have been contaminated by any cat that’s carrying Toxoplasmosis

• Cat ingesting infected prey

  • Toxoplasmosis: Causes and How It Spreads | Toxoplasmosis | CDC

Portal of entry

• GI tract

  • From Initiators to Effectors: Roadmap Through the Intestine During Encounter of Toxoplasma gondii With the Mucosal Immune System - PMC (nih.gov)

Susceptible host

• Most pets, birds, livestock, rodents, & other mammals

• Mainly cats are the ones that Toxoplasmosis can reach adulthood in and sexually reproduce

• Pregnant women and immunodeficient people/cats

  • Toxoplasmosis | American Veterinary Medical Association (avma.org)

Prevention

• Wear gloves while gardening or handling soil

• Don’t consume raw or undercooked meat

• Don’t consume raw shellfish

• Wash kitchen utensils thoroughly

• Wash all fruits and vegetables

• Don’t consume unpasteurized goat milk

• Don’t consume untreated water

• Cover children’s sandboxes so that random cats that are possibly carrying toxoplasmosis won’t contaminate the sand

• Keep your cat healthy

• Avoid stray cats or kittens

• If pregnant, have someone else clean the litter box

• Quarantine newly infected cats as oocysts will continue to be shed for up to 14 days in feces

• Clean litter boxes frequently if possible infected animal is using the litter box as oocysts are present in feces

• Treatment with antibiotics

• Cook meals given to cats thoroughly if diet consists of meat

• Toxoplasmosis - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic