On Tue, 21 Jan 2003 17:58:37 +0800, "tmzz" wrote:

Millions Infected With Deadly Parasite Spread By Cats
1-20-3

LONDON (ANI) -- Research on diseases spread by pets has come up with
alarming results. According to a recent study, the domestic cat has spread a
parasite that causes devastating birth defects in humans.

More than a quarter of the world's population is now infected with
toxoplasma gondii, a relative of the malaria bug, the study conducted by an
Anglo-American team and reported in The Telegraph said.

Infected people with weakened immunity often develop acute
toxoplasmosis, which can lead to birth defects, brain inflammation and
vision problems.

It has also been suggested that the parasite, which invades the
brain, may influence behaviour and trigger schizophrenia.

Although it can sexually reproduce only in cats, the creature
mutated so it could asexually reproduce in a vast range of warm-blooded
hosts, including humans.

Dr David Sibley and colleagues at Washington University, St Louis,
Cambridge University and the University of Georgia claim that the three main
strains of the toxoplasma arise from a single mating about 10,000 years ago.

This allowed these parasites to abstain from sex and made being
eaten an attractive option, so they could easily invade any warm-blooded
creature.

The timing of the rise of this asexual form is significant, said Dr
Jim Ajioka, of Cambridge University. As the more infectious bug emerged,
agriculture developed and animals such as cats were domesticated.

Until recently, scientists had thought that the parasite was usually
harmless, a cause for concern only to pregnant women and people with a
weakened immune system, such as AIDS and transplant patients.

Then a team at Oxford University found that rats and mice behaved
more recklessly when infected. Dr Jaroslav Flegr and colleagues at Charles
University in Prague concluded that the reaction times of infected mice were
slower.

"This makes them more vulnerable to a feline pounce, which is
exactly what the parasite wants," Dr Flegr was quoted as saying in the
report.


Copyright © 2001 ANI-Asian News International. All rights reserved.