Posted on 06/05/2015 8:12:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
WASHINGTON (CBS DC) — Coming into close contact with cats can spread a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) – also dubbed the “cat poop parasite” – which are linked to schizophrenia and other mental disorders that affect humans.
The cat-carried parasite is the most common in developed countries and can infect any warm-blooded species, according to the Schizophrenia Bulletin. Although most humans don’t suffer any symptoms from the widespread parasite, it can cause the illness T. gondii, which is linked to weeks of flu-like symptoms, blindness and even death, CBS News reports.
Two new studies have now linked the T. gondii parasite to increased rates of mental illness in cat owners who may have had increased exposure to parasitic infection.
“Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness,” write study authors E. Fuller Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Dr. Robert H. Yolken of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The researchers compared two previous studies that linked childhood cat ownership and the development of schizophrenia later in life from a 1982 mental health survey. A second study by A.L. Sutterland from the Department of Psychiatry at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam reviewed 50 published studies to a T. gondii infection being tied to mental disorders.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 60 million people are chronically infected with toxoplasma gondii. Close contact with cats, undercooked meat and some unwashed fruits and vegetables are most commonly linked to the parasite. Toxoplasma places pregnant women at risk for birth defects and symptoms of the parasitic infection include swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches and irritation of the eye.
Humane Society data shows there are between 75 to 80 million pet cats and another 30 to 40 million stray or feral cats roaming the U.S. Outdoor cats are at an increased exposure to the T. gondii parasite, which is often found in cats’ infected eggs and feces.
Individuals infected with the parasite are almost twice as likely to develop schizophrenia. Links were also made with addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“In schizophrenia, the evidence of an association with T. gondii is overwhelming,” the authors say in a press release. “These findings may give further clues about how T. gondii infection can possibly [alter] the risk of specific psychiatric disorders.”
But cat lovers have options for protecting their cat and themselves from the T. gondii parasite.
“Children can be protected by keeping their cat exclusively indoors and always covering the sandbox when not in use,” Torrey told CBS News via email. The CDC recommends changing the cat’s litter box daily. T. gondii does not become infectious until 1 to 5 days in feces and its recommended cats aren’t fed raw or undercooked meat.
Agree 100%!
“I believe that this is just another BS study and this is becoming the Friday silly thread.”
Pretty much. Crazy people are more likely to let the litter box stay uncleaned too long and will have higher rates of this infection.
The vast majority of schizophrenics or others don’t have this infection.
:-)
Thx
Well we do know beyond a shadow of a doubt the rodent connection to the Hantavirus, so I too prefer cats.
Note the look that the cat is giving to the blonde. The cat is thinking 'what the @@@@ were you thinking doing this to me.'
In the optimal cat-rodent cycle of the protozoa, the rodent eats infected cat feces, then the protozoa re-trains the rodent’s mind, to be attracted to the smell of cat urine, so it will be eaten by a cat. This is because the protozoa can only reproduce in the gut of a cat.
In the rodent’s brain, when the protozoa detects chemicals associated with fear in the blood, it releases an enzyme, that makes the cat’s brain secrete dopamine (the pleasure chemical), and GABA (the sleeping and wakefulness chemical).
So the rodent enters a drowsy and pleasant (even sexually pleasant) state of mind when it senses what *should* terrify it. In the case of rodents, cat urine should strongly repel it, but it is re-trained to be attracted to it.
Now, the scary part. This neurochemical system is not substantially different between rodents and humans.
So, if it was an exact extrapolation, things that people should be terrified of, they should over time become attracted to.
Horror movies? High risk sports? al-Qaeda? What *should* frighten people?
Liberty, It terrifies them.................
Luckily cats don’t have kids, They have kittens.
Goats have kids
Thanks! Exactly how long did that take you to post?
Bross and Gibson reported in 1970, that the exposure to pets could be a factor of the development of leukemia. They discovered the increase risk of leukemia among children exposed to sick cats to two-folds.[30] This was also confirmed by Petridou et al. (1997) in Greece. However, Swenson and colleagues proved to be exactly opposite.[31] The concern that pets may be associated with childhood leukemia arose when oncogenic viruses such as Feline Leukemia Virus (FELV) were discovered in animals.[30][32]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371935/
Might explain voting for Democrats.
The Russian study I mentioned included the description you posted. Thanks
As far as I am concerned they can file this with all the other scare of the week studies. What’s next a causal relationship between dogs and autism? I’m tired of the hype studies, how many times has coffee flipped from good to bad, now it’s eggs that are no longer bad and the whole cholesterol industry is being turned on it’s ear. If there is money involved there will always be a study proving something.
Note: this topic is from . Thanks Red Badger.
Bow down to your Feline Masters!!!
I'd be surprised if the journals aren't *littered* with this kind of research.
I think that when cooking Chinese food the cat strips should be cooked well done. It’s the only way to be sure.
Fun read.
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