https://www.science.org/content/article/parasite-makes-wolves-more-likely-become-pack-leaders

A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders
Toxoplasma, a common parasite in mammals, including humans, increases boldness in several species.

Summary - Studies on wolves in Yellowstone have determined a common parasite in the brains of wolves makes them 11x’s more likely to leave their birth families and 54x’s more likely to be pack leaders. It is a disease called toxic isa normally found in cats and it controls the behavior of wolves to transport them back to their cat hosts.

It also makes rats UN afraid of cats, easier to kill.

If you are wondering if humans can get it.

40million Americans have it.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/new-light-cast-on-the-crazy-cat-lady-parasite#:~:text=gondii%20is%20a%20single%2Dcelled,States%20may%20carry%20the%20parasite.

Aka, Crazy Cat Lady disease.

The Q15 should be tested.

bradley Wrote:
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> The Q15 should be tested.

I’d be curious to know how many of them lived with cats.
It also makes it so you can’t smell cat urine, which is why every crazy cat lady’s house has that same strong smell.

Most countries don’t keep cats and let them live in their beds, walk on their counters and lick their butter.

From 2nd source I provided, Science Media Exchange

New light cast on the 'crazy cat lady' parasite

T. gondii is a single-celled parasite that infects most species of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and causes the disease toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma can persist for long periods of time in the body, possibly even for a lifetime. More than 40 million people in the United States may carry the parasite.

While very few infected humans have symptoms, toxoplasmosis is considered to be a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. Infection during pregnancy can result in fetal death, and toxoplasmosis is also a threat in individuals with compromised immune systems, such as HIV-infected individuals. With a worldwide prevalence of about 30% in the human population, latent toxoplasmosis is a risk factor for several mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and bipolar disorder, as well as traffic accidents and suicide attempts.’

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963851/

"It must be emphasized that no epidemiological study and especially no correlation (ecological) study can prove existence of causal relation between the two factors. At the same time, results of such studies could indicate which hypothesis should be tested in the future. It is highly probable that some of the observed correlations represent “false correlations” – either the Type 1 errors of used statistical tests or the expression of existence of unknown factor(s) that correlates with both the risk of latent toxoplasmosis and incidence (or severity) of particular disease. However, it is also highly probable that at least some of the observed correlations do occur because toxoplasmosis is, up to now rarely suspected, etiological agent of particular diseases. Existence of some correlations could be expected to happen on the basis of our present knowledge for certain diseases (for example, epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorder, congenital abnormalities). Some of the obtained correlations may be regarded as rather surprising and should therefore be studied in more detail in the future. In the opinion of the authors, slowly emerging important role of latent toxoplasmosis in etiology of several clinical entities deserves much more attention and financial support in future clinical research."

>Aka, Crazy Cat Lady disease.

From your own source

"In the meantime, they urge caution in translating the findings more broadly, noting that humans generally exhibit fewer symptoms than rodents following T. gondii infection. "We hope that people understand that they will not get the 'crazy cat lady syndrome' if they are infected with T. gondii," Soldati-Favre says."

Can't you just get with the program?

El Gato can't be held responsible for the fact that the reporter failed to properly sensationalize. He fixed it.

You science types are so tiresome. How can we work everyone up into a frenzy if you insist on so-called "facts?"

I would have thought an honorary Dubliner would have more respect for poetic license. . .

According to CDC

Toxoplasmosis is considered to be a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. More than 40 million men, women, and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness. However, women newly infected with Toxoplasma during or shortly before pregnancy and anyone with a compromised immune system should be aware that toxoplasmosis can have severe consequences.

Toxoplasmosis is considered one of the neglected parasitic infections of the United States, a group of five parasitic diseases that have been targeted by CDC for public health action.

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html

The only known definitive hosts for Toxoplasma gondii are members of family Felidae (domestic cats and their relatives). Unsporulated oocysts are shed in the cat’s feces . Although oocysts are usually only shed for 1–3 weeks, large numbers may be shed. Oocysts take 1–5 days to sporulate in the environment and become infective. Intermediate hosts in nature (including birds and rodents) become infected after ingesting soil, water or plant material contaminated with oocysts . Oocysts transform into tachyzoites shortly after ingestion. These tachyzoites localize in neural and muscle tissue and develop into tissue cyst bradyzoites . Cats become infected after consuming intermediate hosts harboring tissue cysts . Cats may also become infected directly by ingestion of sporulated oocysts. Animals bred for human consumption and wild game may also become infected with tissue cysts after ingestion of sporulated oocysts in the environment . Humans can become infected by any of several routes:

Consuming food or water contaminated with cat feces or by contaminated environmental samples (such as fecal-contaminated soil or changing the litter box of a pet cat).

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/biology.html



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2022 11:05PM by schrodingerscat.

One more thing to worry about.

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
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> One more thing to worry about.


Just don’t eat food prepared in houses where cats walk on the counter after digging in their litter box and you’ll be fine!

Dave, just stay away from cat litter boxes if you are pregnant and you'll be fine.


(Back when I took my parasitology class, we didn't discuss wolf brains being impacted. We can speculate now what might be behind elderdog being a pack leader around here.)

I am no more a pack leader than I am a spiritual world leader who can commune with ghawd but refuses to do so out of respect for those who wouldn't believe me.

That's the Toxoplasma talking right there!

"There's always been a lot of giggling in the pup tent."

--Judic West, commenting on his muse

dagny Wrote:
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> Dave, just stay away from cat litter boxes if you
> are pregnant and you'll be fine.
>
>
> (Back when I took my parasitology class, we didn't
> discuss wolf brains being impacted. We can
> speculate now what might be behind elderdog being
> a pack leader around here.)

I could never put my finger on it before now, Elderolddog is a Crazy Cat Lady!
Makes perfect sense now though!

  

  

      "Oh, hush, it's just a flesh wound!!"