Toxoplasmosis.

Recently, there have been lots of media reports about a possible link between toxoplasmosis and suicide. Before that, there were reports of a link between brain cancer and toxoplasmosis. Whether these links constitute true evidence of toxoplasmosis causing mental disorders is unknown based on what we know right now. The situation is far more complex than sensationalistic media headlines might have you believe. While I don't want to minimize the seriousness of toxoplasmosis as a disease, I do want cat owners to understand that the chance of getting toxoplasmosis from your pet cat is pretty slim if your cat lives indoors and doesn't hunt or eat raw meat. In fact, you're more likely to get ...

This news won't be good for cat ladies everywhere. According to NPR, a recent study found that a parasite carried by house cats can lead to an increased suicide risk in women. The parasite is called Toxoplasma gondii and lives in the intestines of your feline friends. Humans can become infected with T. gondii from changing the litter boxes, but we also can pick up the microscopic pest from uncooked vegetables and meat. In a study of 45,000 Danish women, results showed that those infected with T. gondii were 1.5 times more likely to take their own lives. While the differences may seem small, University of Maryland psychiatrist Teodor Postolache said that it's large enough to mean there ...