"Toxoplasma gondii, the parasitic protozoon of cats, infects about one-third of the human population in both developed and developing countries (Tenter et al., 2000)."
"Toxoplasma gondii, the parasitic protozoon of cats, infects about one-third of the human population in both developed and developing countries (Tenter et al., 2000)."
Edit: here's that paper from Tenter et al. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109627/#__ffn_...
As a consequence, no two tests produce the same results in all cases, even when carried out in the same laboratory [45–54]. In addition, prevalence rates vary over time and with the age of the individuals included in the study [55–68].
The strongest thing they were willing to say is that it's higher in Latin America and west Africa, and lower in colder climates. Here's a direct link to Table 3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109627/table/T...
- Cats only get toxoplasmosis from prey, and it only sticks around in the cat for a few weeks, so if you have an indoor-only cat that never goes outside and you don't have any pests, you're probably fine
- Even if your cat does go outside, the parasite doesn't become infectious until 1 to 5 days after it is shed in a cat’s feces, so if you're cleaning the litter box daily, you're probably fine as well
> Cats excrete the pathogen in their feces for a number of weeks after contracting the disease, generally by eating an infected intermediate host that could include mammals (like rodents) or birds. Oocyst shedding usually starts from the third day after ingestion of infected intermediate hosts, and may continue for weeks. The oocysts are not infective when excreted. After about a day, the oocyst undergoes a process called sporulation and becomes potentially pathogenic.
I guess I was not quite correct -- it may be that it sticks around longer in the cat, but it is only excreted for a few weeks.