4 ms·

Sounds perfect for a Dr. House mystery.

by mLuby 5y ago

yissp 5y ago
IIRC there was an episode where someone's cat was the cause of their mysterious illness (toxoplasmosis I think).
- cm2012 5y ago
  By the way, the common myth is misleading. Toxoplasmosis is almost always caused by undercooked meat, which is why it's so much more common in France. You can get it from cats but it's almost always stray cats, not house cats.
  - moistly 5y ago
    I don’t think undercooked meat nor stray cats explain the 30–50% prevalence rate. You have a source for your claim? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963851/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963851/
    - cm2012 5y ago
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ "Pork, lamb, and mutton are the most important sources of T gondii infection, along with game meats such as bear and feral swine." "A total of 252 women with toxoplasmosis, along with 748 controls from Naples, Lausanne, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, and Milan, were interviewed by telephone or in person. Overall, eating raw or undercooked beef, lamb, or other meats; contact with soil; and travel outside the country were major sources of infection." Cats don't even make the list of major sources of infection. Further, "The association of cats and human toxoplasmosis is difficult to assess by epidemiological surveys because soil, not the cats, is the main culprit. Oocysts are not found on cat fur and are often buried in soil along with cat faeces.11 Therefore, direct contact with cats is irrelevant with respect to T gondii transmission, and soil contact is universal and difficult to avoid."
  - danaris 5y ago
    Do you have a source for that? (I'm not doubting; I'm looking for further reading on the subject, as I've been curious about toxoplasmosis since first getting my own cats over a decade ago...)
    - cm2012 5y ago
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ "Pork, lamb, and mutton are the most important sources of T gondii infection, along with game meats such as bear and feral swine." "A total of 252 women with toxoplasmosis, along with 748 controls from Naples, Lausanne, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, and Milan, were interviewed by telephone or in person. Overall, eating raw or undercooked beef, lamb, or other meats; contact with soil; and travel outside the country were major sources of infection." Cats don't even make the list of major sources of infection. Further, "The association of cats and human toxoplasmosis is difficult to assess by epidemiological surveys because soil, not the cats, is the main culprit. Oocysts are not found on cat fur and are often buried in soil along with cat faeces.11 Therefore, direct contact with cats is irrelevant with respect to T gondii transmission, and soil contact is universal and difficult to avoid."

Sounds perfect for a Dr. House mystery.

by mLuby 5y ago

Sounds perfect for a Dr. House mystery.

yissp 5y ago

IIRC there was an episode where someone's cat was the cause of their mysterious illness (toxoplasmosis I think).

cm2012 5y ago
By the way, the common myth is misleading. Toxoplasmosis is almost always caused by undercooked meat, which is why it's so much more common in France. You can get it from cats but it's almost always stray cats, not house cats.
- moistly 5y ago
  I don’t think undercooked meat nor stray cats explain the 30–50% prevalence rate. You have a source for your claim? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963851/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963851/
  - cm2012 5y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ "Pork, lamb, and mutton are the most important sources of T gondii infection, along with game meats such as bear and feral swine." "A total of 252 women with toxoplasmosis, along with 748 controls from Naples, Lausanne, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, and Milan, were interviewed by telephone or in person. Overall, eating raw or undercooked beef, lamb, or other meats; contact with soil; and travel outside the country were major sources of infection." Cats don't even make the list of major sources of infection. Further, "The association of cats and human toxoplasmosis is difficult to assess by epidemiological surveys because soil, not the cats, is the main culprit. Oocysts are not found on cat fur and are often buried in soil along with cat faeces.11 Therefore, direct contact with cats is irrelevant with respect to T gondii transmission, and soil contact is universal and difficult to avoid."
- danaris 5y ago
  Do you have a source for that? (I'm not doubting; I'm looking for further reading on the subject, as I've been curious about toxoplasmosis since first getting my own cats over a decade ago...)
  - cm2012 5y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118145/ "Pork, lamb, and mutton are the most important sources of T gondii infection, along with game meats such as bear and feral swine." "A total of 252 women with toxoplasmosis, along with 748 controls from Naples, Lausanne, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, and Milan, were interviewed by telephone or in person. Overall, eating raw or undercooked beef, lamb, or other meats; contact with soil; and travel outside the country were major sources of infection." Cats don't even make the list of major sources of infection. Further, "The association of cats and human toxoplasmosis is difficult to assess by epidemiological surveys because soil, not the cats, is the main culprit. Oocysts are not found on cat fur and are often buried in soil along with cat faeces.11 Therefore, direct contact with cats is irrelevant with respect to T gondii transmission, and soil contact is universal and difficult to avoid."