This paper presents a mathematical model describing the reproduction dynamics of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite in the definitive host Felis catus (cat). The dynamics is described by a system of partial differential equations defined in a one-dimensional region, with boundary and initial conditions. The model considers both asexual and sexual reproduction processes of the T. gondii parasite starting from the consumption of T. gondii oocysts from the environment, by the definitive host, and describing the reproduction dynamics until the cat expels infectious oocysts to the environment through its feces. The numerical solution of the system is obtained, and some simulations are made, leaving constant of transition and loss rates, since its variation does not produce significant changes in the reproduction, propagation and creation of new populations; and varying the initial consumption of oocysts from the environment by the cat. It is concluded that, either low or high, the involved populations are always reproduced; they spread by all over epithelial cells and subsequently are expelled to the environment through the cat feces. It is corroborated that the cats are potential multipliers of the oocysts and therefore, the main disseminators of the infection.
Limited Dispersal, Deleterious Mutations and the Evolution of Sex
