NEW research from Murdoch University is busting myths about Toxoplasmosis and suggesting there is much more to the infection than meets the eye.

The Toxoplasma Gondii parasite causes the Toxoplasmosis infection and can be contracted by both humans and animals in various ways.

Cats are normally seen as primary transmitters of Toxoplasmosis but new research from Murdoch University suggests this may not be the case / Image: Istockphoto

Murdoch Chair of parasitology Professor Andrew Thompson says infections tend to be a result of handling or eating poorly cooked meat.

In most cases, the immune system suppresses the disease so the parasite lays dormant in the nervous tissue, often in the brain.

Therefore, it rarely presents clinical symptoms and is referred to as ‘a common infection but rare disease’.

However, it can be fatal for the immuno-compromised and pregnant women, due to the possibility of neurological problems or blindness for the child at birth.

Since the early 1900s, cats have been solely blamed for both introducing and spreading the disease in Australia.

Yet the new research suggests there may be a native carnivore that spreads the disease, possibly before the introduction of the domestic cat with European settlement.

Prof Thompson says recent field studies show the disease is far more common than anticipated and the level of parasite diversity is quite high, comprising of several strains.

“The question is; have they evolved quickly since European arrival, or are we seeing a process of evolution that had started before Europeans came with the cat,” he says.

“We should rethink the assumption that it’s only the cat, as the research has shown there are strains that have not been seen elsewhere in the world.

“We have carnivores like the Tasmanian Devil but we also have animals that are now extinct, like the Tasmanian Tiger, which may also have been capable of transmitting the disease.”

He also says there is possible misinformation circulated about the disease, with recent stories in the media suggesting the infection may alter human behaviour.

Prof Thompson says these ideas could be inaccurate as they are merely extrapolations.

“There has been a fair bit of talk about that sort of thing in the lay press, but none of it can be confirmed,” he says.

He also says these inaccuracies can promote unnecessary actions.

“It’s taken a long time, maybe 30 or 40 years, to really get the message out that the most common way to become infected is by handling or eating poorly cooked meat,” he says.

“There were stories about people taking their cats to the veterinarian to get it put down because they were so scared.”

Prof Thompson says the Murdoch Toxoplasmosis research will “help to far better predict the potential for it to become virulent and perhaps be responsible for the die off of a specific species.”

Comments (2)

...
written by WendyW, June 25, 2009

Proper cooking and handling of meat should be an inbuilt habit at any rate, and from what I've read you can only be at risk of catching Toxoplasmosis from an infected animal by coming into contact with its faeces, and then not following proper hygiene procedures afterwards - ie wash your hands! As long as you maintain an appropriate level of hygiene it shouldn't be a problem.

The reason why it is so widespread is because appropriate levels of hygiene are not followed. Which goes for a lot of other diseases, too.

...
written by Leo Stubber, October 19, 2009

I have just returned from a prolonged sojourn in the eastern States, but am wondering whether I may not have landed on a different planet
Your heading -- "Cat Scratch Fever may not be from cats after all" -- is totally divorced from the topic discussed in the text
above.
In my scientific lifetime cat scratch Disease has never been attributed to Toxoplasmosis and the mechanism of its pathogenesis has always been attributed to a superficial skin injury associated with regional lymphadenopathy. The finding that 90% of sufferers, usually children, own a act (more specifically a kitten under a year in age) would seem to implicate the feline species as the culprit, even if their involvement has been attributed by some to their fleas.
The last two contenders for the microbiological agent concerned of which I am aware were B. henselae and A. felix, but, admittedly, things may have moved on.
Toxoplasmosis, on the other hand is a systemic disease acquired by ingestion of that organism rather than superficial injury from cats or other agents
I am seriously concerned that an educative publication such as yours could be responsible for a seemingly gross error and would welcome contradiction of my assertions.