TITLE

How Your Cat Could Make You Mentally Ill

New research examines the link between cat-carried parasite and schizophrenia

DESCRIPTION

Cat feces carry a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii).  It can be transmitted to humans through a cat scratch or breathing in dried feces from the litter box, especially when emptying it and cleaning it.  “Those with weakened immune symptoms could develop an illness called toxoplasmosis, which could lead to miscarriages, fetal development disorders, a flu-like illness, blindness and in extreme cases even death. Recently published research now suggests that there could be a link between the cat-carried parasite and mental illness”  A number of studies are cited in the article that point to correlations/associations between having a cat in infancy/childhood and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.  The results of the research showed that a person infected with the parasite was almost twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.”

SOURCE

Time Magazine, June 8, 2015

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://time.com/3912258/cats-parasite-ment-illness/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook

(Tiny URL)  http://tinyurl.com/h9s2otw

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

•Begin with a discussion of the causes of schizophrenia with a focus biology.
•What is toxoplasmosis?
•What are the possible consequences, in humans, of a toxoplasmosis infection?
•After reading the article, what are the believed rates of mental illness (schizophrenia in particular) with a toxoplasmosis infection in early childhood?
•If the students go beyond the article to look at the actual research studies cited in the article:  What is this type of research?  How are these studies conducted? How do these studies differ from empirical experiments?   Is there validity to this type of research?