RELATED: Captive Pallas’s cats die of toxoplasmosis
The fact in the title is true. Humans are indeed more likely to get toxoplasmosis from eating raw foods than from cat feces.
Here’s why:
Prevalence in raw meat: The parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, forms cysts in the muscle tissue of infected animals. Consuming undercooked meat containing these cysts is a direct route for infection.
Cat litter box hygiene: With proper hygiene practices, the risk from cats is lower. If you clean the litter box daily and wear gloves while doing so, the chance of ingesting oocysts from cat feces is significantly reduced.
Cat shedding: An infected cat only sheds oocysts in its feces for a short period after initial infection. This window of opportunity for transmission is smaller compared to the constant risk from contaminated meat sources.
Remember: It’s always important to practice good hygiene around cat litter boxes and to cook meat thoroughly to an appropriate internal temperature to minimize the risk of toxoplasmosis.
Further reading
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Toxoplasmosis https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/index.html
- NHS – Toxoplasmosis https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/toxoplasmosis/
Biased reporting
There is a natural tendency for the news media on the Internet to focus on unsubstantiated so-called ‘facts’ that the domestic cat presents a serious health threat to humans through the oocysts of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite in their faeces. This is more exciting to discuss on the Internet where there is great competition to get people to click on links. The more boring fact is not stressed strongly enough namely that undercooked vegetables and meats or unpasteurised milk is more likely to transmit toxoplasmosis to people than the domestic cat acting as a vector for the disease. Note: cats are the definitive host for Toxoplasma gondii.
Evidence strongly suggests that cats (and people) can also get the disease from eating raw or undercooked pork, beef, mutton or veal or unpasteurised dairy products that contains toxoplasma organisms.
Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook at page 68.
RELATED: Truth about Toxoplasmosis and Cats
