From: "Rich Gauszka" 

It looks like cats can only spread Toxoplasma via their feces.

The CDC reports that more than 60 million Americans are infected

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/toxoplasmosis/factsht_toxoplasmosis.htm
No, cats only spread Toxoplasma in their feces for a few weeks following
infection with the parasite. Like humans, cats rarely have symptoms when
first infected, so most people do not know if their cat has been infected.
The infection will go away on its own; therefore it does not help to have
your cat or your cat's feces tested for Toxoplasma.

How can I prevent toxoplasmosis?

There are several general sanitation and food safety steps you can take to
reduce your chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma.

Wear gloves when you garden or do anything outdoors that involves handling
soil. Cats, which may pass the parasite in their feces, often use gardens
and sandboxes as litter boxes. Wash your hands well with soap and water
after outdoor activities, especially before you eat or prepare any food.

When preparing raw meat, wash any cutting boards, sinks, knives, and other
utensils that might have touched the raw meat thoroughly with soap and hot
water to avoid cross-contaminating other foods. Wash your hands well with
soap and water after handling raw meat.

Cook all meat thoroughly; that is, to an internal temperature of 160ø F and
until it is no longer pink in the center or until the juices become
colorless. Do not taste meat before it is fully cooked.




"Gary Britt"  wrote in message
news:43f0d833{at}w3.nls.net...
> As a cat owner with one cat that regularly eats wild mice, it concerns me
> that cats are a prevalent carrier.
>
> I'd be interested if you get more info on it, and what it takes to kill
> the
> parasite, etc.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gary
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:43f0b963$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Start with Cheney - keep all shotguns away from him temporarily at least
> :-)
>>
>> Ideology aside - that half the worlds population is affected by
>> Toxoplasma
>> parasites  is interesting. I wonder if there are any studies by
>> geographic
>> location?
>>
>>
>> "Gary Britt"  wrote in message
>> news:43f0ac7e{at}w3.nls.net...
>> > Bush is a dog person.  The common thread in all of this is the host
>> > engages
>> > in behavior calculated to lead to its death.  In other words the hosts
> are
>> > trying to commit suicide.  This would explain not neocon behavior, but
>> > liberal neo surrender monkey behavior.  They are trying to do
>> > everything
>> > they can to interfere with their defense in the face on an intractable
> and
>> > deadly enemy (i.e., they are trying to commit suicide).  Maybe we
>> > should
>> > start testing Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Cindy Sheehan, everyone at
>> > Daily
>> > KOS, Monte, etc for these parasites.
>> >
>> > Gary
>> >
>> > "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>> > news:43efa227{at}w3.nls.net...
>> >> Maybe the neocons have a valid excuse. The Toxoplasma didn't like
> Saddam?
>> >>
>> >>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060211/sc_space/mindcontrolbyparasites
>> >>
>> >> Mind Control by Parasites
>> >>
>> >> Half of the world's human population is infected with Toxoplasma,
>> > parasites
>> >> in the body-and the brain. Remember that.
>> >> Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite found in the guts
of cats; it
>> >> sheds
>> >> eggs that are picked up by rats and other animals that are eaten by
> cats.
>> >> Toxoplasma forms cysts in the bodies of the intermediate rat hosts,
>> >> including in the brain.
>> >>
>> >> Since cats don't want to eat dead, decaying prey,
Toxoplasma takes the
>> >> evolutionarily sound course of being a "good"
parasite, leaving the
> rats
>> >> perfectly healthy. Or are they?
>> >>
>> >> Oxford scientists discovered that the minds of the
infected rats have
>> >> been
>> >> subtly altered. In a series of experiments, they demonstrated that
>> >> healthy
>> >> rats will prudently avoid areas that have been doused
with cat urine.
> In
>> >> fact, when scientists test anti-anxiety drugs on rats, they use a
>> >> whiff
>> >> of
>> >> cat urine to induce neurochemical panic.
>> >>
>> >> However, it turns out that Toxoplasma-ridden rats show no such
> reaction.
>> > In
>> >> fact, some of the infected rats actually seek out the cat
urine-marked
>> > areas
>> >> again and again. The parasite alters the mind (and thus
the behavior)
> of
>> > the
>> >> rat for its own benefit.
>> >>
>> >> If the parasite can alter rat behavior, does it have any effect on
>> >> humans?
>> >>
>> >> Dr. E. Fuller Torrey (Associate Director for Laboratory Research at
>> >> the
>> >> Stanley Medical Research Institute) noticed links between
Toxoplasma
> and
>> >> schizophrenia in human beings, approximately three
billion of whom are
>> >> infected with T. gondii:
>> >>
>> >>   a.. Toxoplasma infection is associated with damage to astrocytes,
> glial
>> >> cells which surround and support neurons. Schizophrenia is also
>> >> associated
>> >> with damage to astrocytes.
>> >>   b.. Pregnant women with high levels of antibodies to
Toxoplasma are
>> >> more
>> >> likely to give birth to children who will develop schizophrenia.
>> >>   c.. Human cells raised in petri dishes, and infected with
>> >> Toxoplasma,
>> > will
>> >> respond to drugs like haloperidol; the growth of the
parasite stops.
>> >> Haloperidol is an antipsychotic, used to treat schizophrenia.
>> >> Dr. Torrey got together with the Oxford scientists, to
see if anything
>> > could
>> >> be done about those parasite-controlled rats that were
driven to hang
>> > around
>> >> cat urine-soaked corners (waiting for cats). According to a recent
> press
>> >> release, haloperidol restores the rat's healthy fear of
cat urine. In
>> > fact,
>> >> antipsychotic drugs were as effective as pyrimethamine, a drug that
>> >> specifically eliminates Toxoplasma.
>> >>
>> >> Are parasites like Toxoplasma subtly altering human behavior? As it
> turns
>> >> out, science fiction writers have been thinking about
whether or not
>> >> parasites could alter a human being's behavior, or even
take control
>> >> of
> a
>> >> person. In his 1951 novel The Puppet Masters, Robert Heinlein wrote
> about
>> >> alien parasites the size of dinner plates that took control of the
> minds
>> > of
>> >> their hosts, flooding their brains with neurochemicals. In this
> excerpt,
>> >> a
>> >> volunteer strapped to a chair allows a parasite to be
introduced; the
>> >> parasite rides him, taking over his mind. Under these
conditions, it
>> >> is
>> >> possible to interview the parasite; however, it refuses to answer
>> >> until
>> >> zapped with a cattle prod.
>> >>
>> >>   He reached past my shoulders with a rod. I felt a shocking,
> unbearable
>> >> pain. The room blacked out as if a switch had been thrown.. I was
>> >> split
>> >> apart by it; for the moment I was masterless.
>> >>
>> >>   The pain left, leaving only its searing memory behind. Before I
>> >> could
>> >> speak, or even think coherently for myself, the splitting away had
> ended
>> > and
>> >> I was again safe in the arms of my master...
>> >>
>> >>   The panic that possessed me washed away; I was again
filled with an
>> >> unworried sense of well being...
>> >>
>> >>   "What are you?" "We are the people... We
have studied you and we
>> >> know
>> > your
>> >> ways... We come," I went on, "to bring you
peace.. and contentment-and
>> >> the
>> >> joy of-of surrender." I hesitated again;
"surrender" was not the right
>> > word.
>> >> I struggled with it the way one struggles with a poorly grasped
>> >> foreign
>> >> language. "The joy," I repeated, "-the joy
of . . .nirvana." That was
> it;
>> >> the word fitted. I felt like a dog being patted for
fetching a stick;
>> >> I
>> >> wriggled with pleasure.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Still not sure that parasites can manipulate the behavior of host
>> > organisms?
>> >> Consider these other cases:
>> >>
>> >>   a.. The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum forces
its ant host to
>> >> attach to the tips of grass blades, the easier to be
eaten. The fluke
>> > needs
>> >> to get into the gut of a grazing animal to complete its life cycle.
>> >>   b.. The fluke Euhaplorchis californiensis causes fish
to shimmy and
>> >> jump
>> >> so wading birds will grab them and eat them, for the same reason.
>> >>   c.. Hairworms, which live inside grasshoppers, sabotage the
>> > grasshopper's
>> >> central nervous system, forcing them to jump into pools of water,
>> >> drowning
>> >> themselves. Hairworms then swim away from their hapless hosts to
> continue
>> >> their life cycle.
>> >>
>> >> Not all science-fictional parasites are harmful; read about the
> Crosswell
>> >> tapeworm from Brian Aldiss' 1969 story Super-Toys Last
All Summer Long
>> > (the
>> >> basis for the Kubrick/Spielberg film AI), which keeps people who
> overeat
>> >> from becoming obese. Not to mention robots based on parasites. Read
> press
>> >> release on evidence for link between Toxoplasma and schizophrenia,
>> > Suicidal
>> >> grasshoppers. Story via blogger Carl Zimmer and his readers.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

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