Cat Parasite is Killing Otters

According to the BBC, "Cat faeces (sic) carrying Toxoplasma parasites wash into US waterways and then into the sea where they can infect otters, causing brain disease.

"The parasite is familiar to medical researchers, as it can damage human foetuses (sic) when expectant mothers become infected while changing cat litter.

"The most likely source of infection for sea otters is the parasite's tough egg-like stage, known as the oocyst, which is passed in the faeces (sic) of cats. ... Once the parasite reaches the sea, it may be concentrated in mussels, oysters and clams, a major source of food for some otters. "

"For the sea otters, we don't exactly know how it gets in," said Dr Conrad, "but it must be through ingestion. "

The study also states that, "...individuals with moderate to severe brain inflammation were about four times as likely to die from a shark attack."

While most humans are not at risk of shark attack, it would be interesting to know the specific neural effects caused by such "brain inflammanation." We could then search for similar effects in humans.

I would also like to know the relationship between "brain inflammation" and alcohol.

The BBC article also reports that "There are 78 million domestic cats in the US, and the number has doubled in the last 10 years; there are estimated to be another 78 million feral cats. " It doesn't give an infection rate for these animals but, if the otter study is any indication, the rate must be rather high. Such a high infection rate has serious implications for human infection - and human mental health.

This research is attributed to Patricia Conrad, DVM of the Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. She was speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in St Louis, Missouri. Additional comments are strictly the opinion of this author.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4729810.stm for the complete article.