In children and adults it can cause other signs, and is sometimes fatal. The cases of toxoplasmosis in the United States had been declining to 350 cases annually in the early 1990 s. With the AIDS epidemic, the number of cases has increased. The oocysts must be in the environment 1-5 days before they are infective. This is important to remember when we discuss preventing infection.
Cats only pass T. gondii in their feces for a few weeks after becoming infected.
The oocysts can survive several years in the environment and are resistant to most disinfectants. The oocysts are ingested by intermediate hosts such as rodents and birds, or other animals such as dogs and humans, and migrate to the muscle and brain. Humans, dogs and other mammals usually become infected through meat, raw milk from infected goats, and accidental ingestion of cat s fecal material from hands or on food. Further signs may occur depending on whether the infection is acute or chronic, and where T. gondii is found in the body. Kittens may be born stillborn or ill.