Attempted transmission of Toxoplasma gondii infection from pregnant cats to their kittens
Dubey, J.P.; Hoover, E.A.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 170(5): 538-540
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 557468 Document Number: 117976
Sixteen specific pathogen-free cats pregnant for one to 7 weeks were inoculated orally with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. No toxoplasms were isolated (by inoculating suspensions of their tissues into mice) from 23 foetuses and 16 newborn kittens from 13 queens. Six (3 litters) of the 15 kittens from the remaining queens were killed on the day of, or day after, birth, and the remaining 9 kittens were housed with their mothers for 7 to 33 days. None of the 9 kittens from the 2 litters examined up to 33 days of age was infected. In the other litter, T. gondii was isolated from 3 kittens killed at 9, 16 and 22 days of age but not from the 3 littermates killed on days one, one and 22. Internal organs from the 3 kittens with proved Toxoplasma infectivity in mice were examined histologically. Multifocal granulomatous encephalitis, hepatitis, nephritis, myocarditis, myositis, and interstitial pneumonia were found in all 3 kittens. Toxoplasma forms were demonstrated histologically in the tissues of 2 of these kittens. The mode of infection in newborn kittens was not determined but did not appear to be either transplacental or via faecal contamination from oocysts excreted by the mother cat. The experiments suggest that transplacental transmission is not important in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma infection in cats. [AS].