Cat Parasite Found In Arctic Beluga Whales
Toxoplasmosis Arrives in the Arctic Left: Toxoplasma tachyzoites that cause acute disease. Right: Toxoplasma cyst in heart muscle of Arctic Beluga. Michael Grigg, Stephen Raverty The parasite Toxoplasma gondii can cause heart, brain, nervous system or eye damage in people with weakened immune systems, and harm or kill developing fetuses in pregnant women. Over 60 million people in the United States carry the the parasite, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), but typically show no symptoms of being infected, a condition called toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is sometimes called the kitty litter disease, because house cats have long been known as "definitive" hosts: carriers in which the parasite can produce eggs. Cats pick up T. gondii by eating infected prey or meat, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center, and then shed the eggs in their feces. Once shed, the...