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Toxoplasmosis from Cats

Desmond79

I heard about the possibility of toxoplasmosis, from Cats, and how it affects our mental well-being.

I plan to talk to the Vet; appointment next Monday.

  • It can also be contracted from eating undercooked meat, which is why it is very prevalent in France. For anyone with a reasonably healthy immune system it is not dangerous. After infection there is a phase of rapid proliferation of the parasite, which usually gives 'flu'-like symptoms. Once the immune system starts reacting to the parasite it encysts and the infection becomes dormant. Cysts can form in the brain or other organs. It is only when the immune system becomes compromised that the infection can reactivate. This is typically in AIDS infections and people taking immunosuppressant drugs following transplants. There is some evidence that infection can control behaviour in the host, leading to increased risk-taking behaviour. As felines are the definitive hosts, where the T. gondii parasites have their sexual stages, it is thought that increased risk-taking in prey species improves the chances of the prey being caught and eaten by a member of the cat family.

    It is also dangerous to the foetus if the mother catches toxoplasmosis for the first time, while pregnant.

  • in reply to Desmond79

    I found a bit more about the occurrance in autistic peope:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7040223/

    The typical symptom associated with toxoplasmosis was anxiety, and the typical toxoplasmosis-associated disorders were autism (OR = 4.78)

    I belive OR means the occurrance rate, i.e. how many people in that category have toxoplasmosis.

  • in reply to Iain

    Thank God I took plenty of Vitamin C and D supplements during the ZANU Normal. Slight smile

  • My wife has toxoplasmosis, a consequence of her mother keeping cats when she was pregnant. It is a blood based parasite that lives in the brain and there is no known cure for it yet.

    The issues for my wife are a badly damaged retina in both eyes due to the parasite activity there - and flare up can happen when the immune system is compromised so blindness is a distinct possibility for her.

    Here is quite a useful source of information:

    https://www.webmd.com/pets/cats/toxoplasmosis-cats

    those who are pregnant or have weakened immune systems face greater health risks.

    Looking at the impact of mental health and toxoplasmisis:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7040223/

    The connection between certain mental health disorders, especially schizophrenia, and toxoplasmosis has been documented beyond any reasonable doubt,

    ... It is not known whether the association of Toxoplasma with schizophrenia is the strongest or whether it is just most often studied.

    The article goes on to compare a number of conditions, but not specifically autism. It does cover a number of traits that are common to autism so it may just be a case that this has not been studied yet.