Here are some notes on toxoplasmosis in an infographic. I have to be very selective on what to include and omit due to limited space. I have focused on the zoonotic nature of the disease and pregnancy as these are … continue reading…
The thing that I particularly don’t like about rabies in the USA in the domestic cat is that if a domestic cat for whatever reason bites a person including their owner, they might assume that the cat has caught rabies … continue reading…
NEWS AND COMMENT: There is a rather startling news media story circulating on the Internet at the moment stating that “more than 350,000 pet cats” have been infected by Covid in Britain. And I think that story should carry with … continue reading…
The Brits, including myself, have criticised the Chinese for their alleged lax attitude towards maintaining the highest standards of security at their Wuhan biolab in order to prevent the escape of zoonotic diseases into public places. At one time it … continue reading…
I have had to interpret a very complicated study on the Toxoplasma gondii protozoan parasite published on the Cell Host & Microbe website. But it is an interesting study if you take the time to try and interpreted as a … continue reading…
The big news which is unfolding under the radar, and which was ignored by news media until recently because of the political crisis in the UK, is that bird flu (H5N1, a form of avian influenza) is ravaging native wild … continue reading…
NO! This question was an important one in around 1986 which was five years after scientists discovered the cause of AIDS in humans namely HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus). Since then, a lot more has become known to the scientific … continue reading…
It depends to a certain extent where you are. I will discuss the USA and UK. This is a tricky topic partly because the advice varies depending on where you live and because the internet is not great it providing … continue reading…
As the word at the beginning of the question is “can” I can discuss it theoretically. Theoretically a domestic cat could kill a human directly (physically) under very exceptional and infinitesimally rare circumstances but there are probably instances where domestic … continue reading…
Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi. These organisms invade the cat’s body. The cat becomes a host and they cause illness. They are all pathogens. They are infectious because they can be transmitted from one cat … continue reading…
The life-cycle of Toxoplasma gondii is complicated. People tend to oversimplify it. They see the domestic cat infecting humans with this protozoan parasite which is about the extent of general knowledge. It isn’t that simple; far from it. This article … continue reading…
I declare my bias/interest: I am for the cat and against science which either purposefully or inadvertently maligns the cat. The question in the title is very big and very bold. The answer is that we don’t know, at present. … continue reading…
NEWS AND COMMENT – SHANGHAI, CHINA: This story is as much about pets as it is about people. In this chilling video we can hear the plaintiff screams and cries of Shanghai residents bellowing out their frustration to the world … continue reading…
In answering the question, I believe that there is a difference between cats and dogs. This article is about the transmission of the superbug E. coli from companion animals to human caregivers via the ‘oral-fecal route’. This is a zoonotic … continue reading…
Before I talk about cat bites signs of infection, I would like to put cat bites into perspective. A cat that is adequately socialised (raised to behave reasonably in relation to other animals and people) and is decently treated will … continue reading…
