Over 40 million in the US are infected with toxoplasma gondii. Researchers want it taken more seriously.
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can infect any nucleated cell in any warm-blooded animal and can cause a wide range of health complications — some fatal, such as miscarriage or inflammation of the brain.
This singled-celled parasite, which can survive up to a lifetime in a human body, is stereotypically associated with crazy “cat ladies” due to its presence in cat feces — cats are its only known definitive hosts — and its association with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal behavior.
Despite its association with “cat ladies,” the parasite is an equal opportunity invader. A study published last year noted, for instance, that the rapidly dividing asexual form of the indiscriminate parasite can “colonize and proliferate” within testes, decapitate sperm, and cause “oxidative stress leading to male infertility.”
A study published on Thursday in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases warned that toxoplasmosis, the virus caused by the parasite, is not receiving sufficient attention from the scientific powers that be — certainly not the level that might otherwise be warranted by its impact and pervasiveness.