Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasma gondii is an intestinal coccidium that parasitizes members of the cat family as definitive hosts and has a wide range of intermediate hosts. In most cases, infection is asymptomatic, but devastating disease can occur. Cats—definitive hosts—are infected by eating rodents—intermediate hosts.
Oocysts are spread in the feces. If the oocysts are ingested by intermediate host mammals, such as rodents, they develop in the digestive tract. It is here that they are engulfed by macrophages. Within the macrophage, tachyzoites develop and travel to various parts of the body (liver, brain, heart, spleen) via the bloodstream.
The intermediate host may be eaten by a predator, such as a cat. In addition to public health problems, this zoonosis is a frequent cause of abortions in sheep and goat herds.
Testing Solutions
IDEXX CHEKIT* Toxotest Antibody ELISA Test Kit
Availability/Distribution: Outside the U.S.
The CHEKIT Toxotest ELISA Test Kit is an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in serum and plasma samples of small ruminants.
The CHEKIT Toxotest Kit includes chemical reagents (wash, substrate, stop solutions) that can also be used with CHEKIT kits that test for other abortive diseases (B. abortus, neosporosis, Q fever, Chlamydia).
2 plates (strips), serum and plasma samples of ruminants, results within 2.5 hours, adapted to automation, common incubation times, ready-to-use conjugate (caprine, ovine)
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