One of the world\u2019s most effective parasites doesn\u2019t spread through mosquito bites or undercooked snails \u2014 but through the common house cat.<\/p>\n
Called toxoplasma gondii, the parasite is a single-cell organism that primarily spreads to humans via cat turds, but also through raw or undercooked meat, contaminated water, and from a mother to her fetus. Its symptoms range from mild aches and pains to debilitating neural impairment, which makes it all the more horrifying to learn that it currently has no cure.<\/p>\n
According to a paper<\/a> published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, as spotted by Gizmodo<\/a>, the infection of this protozoan parasite known as \u201ctoxoplasmosis\u201d is \u201cone of the most common parasitic infectious diseases affecting humans,\u201d and the number one \u201cintraocular infection\u201d \u2014 meaning inside the eyeball<\/a> \u2014 on the planet.<\/p>\n In the research paper, a team of international scientists makes the case that toxoplasmosis meets the criteria for recognition as a \u201cneglected tropical disease.\u201d That designation would free up significant resources for further studies and the development of public health policy \u201cto address the substantial burden\u201d the parasite has on human health.<\/p>\n And it is substantial. Some researchers estimate that roughly one-third of humanity<\/a> \u2014roughly two billion people \u2014 is infected with the parasite, including about 60 million people in the United States alone. Though a healthy immune system can keep the worst impacts of the eye-ball dwellers in check, worst-case scenarios can include significant damage to the eyes, brain, and nervous system.<\/p>\n As Gizmodo notes, some research has suggested that long-term toxoplasmosis leads to personality changes<\/a> in infected rodents, wolves, and humans; in the latter case, it could even raise the risk of schizophrenia. One 2020 survey<\/a> of the parasite\u2019s impact on cognition notes that the presence of the parasite in the host can upend the brain\u2019s ability to process dopamine, \u201cwhich may alter cognitive, behavioral, and motor activities.\u201d<\/p>\n Justine Smith, ophthalmologist at Flinders University and one of the study\u2019s co-authors told Gizmodo that \u201cthere is no commercially available vaccine against toxoplasmosis. And the drugs we give patients can limit a flare-up of the disease, but there is no drug that cures it at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n Firmly establishing toxoplasmosis as a neglected tropical disease is key to combatting the disease, the study\u2019s authors say, especially across the global south.<\/p>\n