11/1/2013 - Parasites, Fungi, and Viruses, Oh my!

Toxoplasmosis was a very scary yet very interesting parasits.  It lives in cat feces and is why they say pregnant woman should avoid dealing with cats while with child. Apparently the parasite completes its life cycle in the digestive tract of cats.  When rats eat the feces of cats and become infected, the parasite realizes it is in the wrong place, and in the course of around 6 months makes it's way to the brain where it releases chemicals the affect the rats amygdala.  The amygdala controls our fight and flight responses, and rats infected with toxoplasma lose all fear of cat smell and urine.

Swanson, Janice. Toxoplasmosis: A Protozoan Disease of Animals and Man. Beltsville, Maryland:

National Agricultural Library, 1990. Print.