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Cats kill 1,000 people a day
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Beware of cats! According to experts, about 1,000 Britons are infected with parasites carried by their pets every day.
Conventionally, the world can be divided into cat lovers and those who remain indifferent to their charms. The United Kingdom is one of the countries where the cat is the most popular pet.
However, alarm bells are ringing for owners of these graceful animals. A very large number of cats are carriers of dangerous parasites that cause serious illnesses, birth defects in infants, and can even cause suicide.
Every year, about 350,000 people become infected with toxoplasma, a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. Of these, about 80% are not even aware of the parasite's activity in their body. The disease may not show any obvious signs of its presence in the body of the carrier and remain dormant throughout life, proceeding in a latent form. But the remaining 20% seek medical help due to complications caused by the disease. This can be damage to many organs, including the brain.
In addition to the most common cases of infection from domestic felines, there are other ways of infection. For example, with insufficient heat treatment of eggs and meat.
Toxoplasmosis is especially dangerous for pregnant women. Toxoplasma can penetrate the placenta and cause severe deformities in unborn children, so such a diagnosis is usually an indication for artificial termination of pregnancy.
Also at risk are people with weakened immune systems, such as people with AIDS or those undergoing cancer treatment.
And in a recent study by American scientists, it was found that infection with parasites increases the risk of suicide by 1.5 times.
The scale of the infection's spread has shocked microbiologists, who say not enough is being done to reduce the risks.
Some insist that young families should not have cats, others that people should avoid eating pink lamb, since this is the meat most often found toxoplasma parasites. And all because traditionally lamb is served unroasted, with a pink tint.
Preventive measures against toxoplasmosis include following sanitary rules, mandatory hand washing after contact with animals, strengthening the immune system, and testing pregnant women for infection.
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