A good reason to keep cats out of the veggie field

Monday, April 2, 2012

Cats pooping on the food you eat can make you crazy, according to an article in the March issue of the Atlantic magazine.

Since the early 1990s, Czech scientist Jaroslav Flegr has been conducting research into the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii for short), which is excreted by cats in their feces. The parasite has long been known to cause toxoplasmosis, a disease which can infect pregnant women and cause severe brain damage and death to the fetus. However, the parasite, which is also found in drinking water contaminated by cat feces, unwashed vegetables, and undercooked pork and beef, may be affecting humans in subtler, more bizarre ways.

The parasite causes infected mice to run faster in open spaces, making them a target for cats, and even become attracted to felines. The parasite wants back inside the cat, where it can sexually reproduce.

Since cats do not eat humans, we are a "dead end" for T. gondii, but Flegr still believes the parasite is influencing human behaviour – altering responses to frightening situations, affecting trust and inhibition, and changing how outgoing people are.

Also, T. gondii can cause you to crash your car. Flegr conducted two independent studies of drivers in the Czech Republic and found that those who tested positive for T. gondii were about two and a half times as likely to be in a traffic accident as uninfected drivers. This could be due to a reduced perception of danger.

Flegr and Charles University psychiatrist Jiri Horacek suspect there may be a connection to schizophrenia. BF