{"id":28292,"date":"2014-08-22T00:05:44","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T07:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=28292"},"modified":"2014-08-22T03:17:32","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T10:17:32","slug":"parasite-living-inside-right-now-toxoplasma-gondii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/08\/parasite-living-inside-right-now-toxoplasma-gondii\/","title":{"rendered":"The Parasite That Could Be Living Inside You Right Now, Toxoplasma Gondii"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pf-content\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-34536\" src=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii-340x340.jpg\" alt=\"Toxoplasma_gondii\" width=\"340\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii-340x340.jpg 340w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii-90x90.jpg 90w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii-75x75.jpg 75w, http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Toxoplasma_gondii.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If we were to tell you that there is a parasite out there that can infect virtually any warm-blooded creature on Earth; is found just about everywhere; approximately 33% of humans are infected; and is also mysteriously linked to people committing suicide and brain cancer, then we told you that it was most commonly found in cats, you&#8217;d say we had to be lying because cats would be extinct if we all knew that. (Well, if they weren&#8217;t so adorable.) It turns out, we&#8217;re not lying and the truth gets even more interesting.<\/p>\n<p>Known as <i>Toxoplasma gondii<\/i>, the parasite can cause a disease aptly called <i>toxoplasmosis<\/i> in virtually any warm-blooded creature it infects. Luckily for us,\u00a0<i>toxoplasmosis <\/i>is rarely, if ever, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vet.cornell.edu\/FHC\/health_resources\/toxoplasmosis.cfm\" target=\"_blank\">fatal in any species.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>That said, it is still a very major concern to the scientific and medical community. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stanford.edu\/class\/humbio153\/GenEngMosquitos\/Background.html\" target=\"_blank\">As noted<\/a> in a work sheet released by <i>Stanford University<\/i>, <i>toxoplasmosis<\/i> has a very high mortality rate when people with a weaker immune system, such as patients suffering from HIV\/AIDS, are infected with it. The disease is also noted as being very dangerous to infants and other, otherwise immunocompromised patients.<\/p>\n<p>So how do you catch it? Well, there are several well documented and universally agreed upon ways in which an ordinary person can come into contact with the parasite, and hence the disease.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Raw, undercooked meat.<\/li>\n<li>Unpasteurized milk.<\/li>\n<li>Raw\/unwashed vegetables.<\/li>\n<li>Cats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a fun bit of trivia, the link between eating uncooked meat and the parasite was conclusively proven when scientists in Paris fed orphans nearly raw beef, horse and lamb meat to test the hypothesis that the parasite could be transmitted in this way. If you&#8217;re hoping that this happened hundreds of years ago, it took place in 1965. Oh and the orphans were housed in a sanatorium (building for treating people with long term illnesses) at the time.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re now disgusted at the French for allowing such experiments on orphans, it should be noted that to test penicillin\u2019s effectiveness in treating syphilis and other STDs, researchers led by Dr. John Charles Cutler from the United States (funded by the Public Health Services, the Pan American Health Sanitary Bureau, and the National Institutes of Health) headed to Guatemala in 1946 and found prostitutes who had syphilis, getting them to then give it to unsuspecting Guatemalan soldiers, mental health patients, and prisoners.\u00a0 They also directly infected certain individuals by \u201c\u2026direct inoculations made from syphilis bacteria poured into the men\u2019s penises and on forearms and faces that were slightly abraded \u2026 or in a few cases through spinal punctures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It isn\u2019t known how many people died as a result of this as the results from the study were never published.\u00a0 If you think that is bad, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/true-story-behind-appalling-tuskegee-syphilis-experiment\/\" target=\"_blank\">check out the infamous Tuskegee syphilis experiment<\/a> where about 600 American citizens were told they were getting free health care when in fact the physicians were just studying how untreated syphilis progressed (many to death, as well as spreading it to others as they were not told they had it). Dr. John Cutler was involved in that one too.\u00a0 He faced no consequences for the numerous people that died in his experiments, and he even lead an illustrious and celebrated career including at one point becoming an assistant to the U.S. Surgeon General.\u00a0 So needless to say, there are bad eggs in every country.<\/p>\n<p>But we digress, in regards to cats, they are noted as being the &#8220;definitive host&#8221; of the <i>Toxoplasma gondii<\/i> parasite. In fact, it can only sexually reproduce when it is inside of a cat. However, it can <em>asexually<\/em> reproduce and live &#8220;indefinitely&#8221; inside the body of virtually any warm-blooded host, like a human. Since <i>Toxoplasma gondii<\/i> parasites can&#8217;t complete their life-cycle inside of us though, we are defined as being &#8220;intermediate hosts&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Before you go out murdering adorable kittens, we need to stress that the chances of catching the parasite from cats, if you&#8217;re doing anything other than handling cat feces directly and not washing your hands after, is infinitesimally small. So much so in fact that owning a cat is not considered a risk at all in terms of acquiring Toxoplasma gondii, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/news\/2012\/07July\/Pages\/toxoplasmosis-in-cat-faeces-and-suicide-risk.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">unless you&#8217;re pregnant<\/a>. This is due to the fact that\u00a0<i>Toxoplasma gondii<\/i> parasites can be passed from a mother to her child while she&#8217;s pregnant. And, as noted, a severely weak immune system, such as the baby has, is a recipe for death when acquiring this parasite.\u00a0 However, even this generally isn&#8217;t much of a risk unless the woman in question first acquires the parasite while pregnant. But given the consequences include potential death to the child, it&#8217;s recommended to be ultra careful concerning this parasite when pregnant. Otherwise, you&#8217;re probably going to be fine.<\/p>\n<p>We say probably because although the vast majority of people are perfectly safe from harm from the parasite, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hpa.org.uk\/Topics\/InfectiousDiseases\/InfectionsAZ\/Toxoplasmosis\/\" target=\"_blank\">up to a third of people<\/a> <strong>worldwide<\/strong>, are infected with it. (Yes, 1 in 3.) Further, about 40% of people in the U.S. have been exposed to the parasite at some point (often in unwashed vegetables or undercooked meat) and about 15% of people in the U.S. have the telltale cysts in their heart, nervous system tissues, and skeletal muscle, with each cyst containing many thousands of the parasite. However, it&#8217;s likely that the vast majority of these people will never realise they&#8217;re infected and never suffer any ill effects as a result of the infection. As noted by the official <em>Public Health England<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hpa.org.uk\/Topics\/InfectiousDiseases\/InfectionsAZ\/Toxoplasmosis\/\" target=\"_blank\">website<\/a>,\u00a0the symptoms of <i>toxoplasmosis<\/i> in ordinary, healthy people are usually nondescript and mild.\u00a0 If any symptoms do show up, it generally only happens when you first acquire the parasite, and these are simply mild flu-like symptoms that last a couple weeks.<\/p>\n<p>So, in the end, despite the fact that a third of the world is infected with this parasite, unless you have a crippling disease that&#8217;s ravaging your immune system, are getting an organ transplant, or are a tiny baby, it will probably never bother or affect you in anyway.<\/p>\n<p>Again, we say &#8220;probably&#8221; because there is a growing, but as yet unproven concern that the parasite can cause a number of mental health problems. For example, research conducted by the <em>Maryland School of Medicine<\/em> found that women infected with the parasite were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/21345-t-gondii-parasite-suicide-attempts.html\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;1.5 times more likely to attempt suicide&#8221;<\/a>.\u00a0 Other studies have linked the parasite to even more alarming health issues such as schizophrenia and even brain cancer.<\/p>\n<p>By far the most fascinating thing about the parasite, however, is its apparent ability to control the mind, or at least the behaviour of certain of its hosts. Specifically, rats infected with the parasite will become unusually attracted to the scent of cat urine, a scent they&#8217;d usually avoid like the plague. Terrifyingly, the parasite seems to accomplishes this by completely and permanently overriding the rat&#8217;s natural fear of cats and their distinctive odour.\u00a0 Instead, the rat becomes <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023277\" target=\"_blank\">intensely sexually attracted<\/a> to it instead. Needless to say, this makes it much more likely that the rat will be eaten by a cat, which allows the Toxoplasma gondii to get inside its preferred host. As of yet, (thankfully) no such mental change has been noted in human beings.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, our own immune system keeps the majority of symptoms, and by extension the parasite, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/cat-poop-parasite-controls-minds-early-permanently-study-finds-4B11194722\" target=\"_blank\">at bay<\/a>. When it doesn&#8217;t, for example in immune deficient people, the subsequent disease often results in death, with initial complications including encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and pneumonia.<\/p>\n<p>If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-brainfoodshow\/id1350586459\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/36xpXQMPVXhWJzMoCHPJKd\" target=\"_blank\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&#038;isi=691797987&#038;ius=googleplaymusic&#038;apn=com.google.android.music&#038;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Insimdi4g6puyyr4qbt6tup5b6m?t%3DThe_BrainFood_Show%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/feed\/brainfood\/\" target=\"_blank\">Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/the-parasite-that-becomes-a-tongue\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Parasite that Becomes a Tongue<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/parasitic-sacculina-bends-host-will\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Parasitic Sacculina That Bends Its Host to Its Own Will<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2013\/10\/mind-control-inside\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mind Control: From the Inside Out<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/04\/eleven-thousand-year-old-dog-cancer-may-hold-key-immortality\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Eleven Thousand Year Old Contagious Cancer Still Multiplying Today<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2014\/03\/native-americans-didnt-wipe-europeans-diseases\/\" target=\"_blank\">Why Native Americans Didn\u2019t Wipe Out Europeans With Diseases<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id69f0992990cdd\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Expand for References\"    >Expand for References<\/span><div id=\"target-id69f0992990cdd\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vet.cornell.edu\/FHC\/health_resources\/toxoplasmosis.cfm\">Toxoplasmosis in Cats<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stanford.edu\/class\/humbio153\/GenEngMosquitos\/Background.html\">Toxoplasma gondii in immunocompromised patients<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/21345-t-gondii-parasite-suicide-attempts.html\">Cat Parasite Linked to Suicide Attempts in Humans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hpa.org.uk\/Topics\/InfectiousDiseases\/InfectionsAZ\/Toxoplasmosis\/\">General Information\u00a0 Toxoplasmosis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/news\/2012\/07July\/Pages\/toxoplasmosis-in-cat-faeces-and-suicide-risk.aspx\">Are women who own cats a suicide risk?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livescience.com\/15241-mind-controlling-parasite-increase-brain-cancer-risk.html\">Mind-Controlling Parasite May Increase Brain Cancer Risk<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023277\">Predator Cat Odors Activate Sexual Arousal Pathways in Brains of Toxoplasma gondii Infected Rats <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.co.uk\/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=9&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CG4QFjAI&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fnaldc.nal.usda.gov%2Fdownload%2F29795%2FPDF&amp;ei=_3aoUq6XKYfH7AaYzoGgCA&amp;usg=AFQjCNH6IsP2vuFJhnMlK26WZWb4aofoFw&amp;bvm=bv.57799294,d.ZGU\">History of the discovery of the life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Toxoplasma_gondii\" target=\"_blank\">T-Gondii<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If we were to tell you that there is a parasite out there that can infect virtually any warm-blooded creature on Earth; is found just about everywhere; approximately 33% of humans are infected; and is also mysteriously linked to people committing suicide and brain cancer, then we told you that it was most commonly found in cats, you&#8217;d say we [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":34536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2781,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-i-found-out","category-featured-facts","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28292"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34191,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28292\/revisions\/34191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}