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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2013 Publication Date: 8/28/2013 Citation: Dubey, J.P. 2013. The history and life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. In: Weiss, L.M. and Kim, K., editors. Toxoplasma gondii, The model apicomplexan: Perspective and methods. 2nd edition. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. p. 1-14. Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite of all warm-blooded hosts worldwide. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in children, and abortion in livestock. Cats are the main reservoir of T. gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the resistant stage (oocyst) of the parasite in the feces. Humans become infected by eating under cooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts. In the present paper the author reviews life cycle of Toxoplasma. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, and public health workers. Technical Abstract: Infections by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii are widely prevalent in humans and other animals on all continents. There are many thousands of references to this parasite in the literature, and it is not possible to give equal treatment to all authors and discoveries. The objective of this chapter is, rather, to provide a history of the milestones in our acquistion of knowledge of the biology of this parasite. |
