Californian cat owner gives his cats bird flu when feeding them raw cows' milk

Bird Flu illustrated by DALLE (AI bot).

A California man inadvertently killed his two cats by indirectly giving them bird flu as the virus was in their raw milk which he believed would boost their immune systems. He wanted to improve their health but achieved the exact opposite; it is very sadly reported. It's been traumatic for Joseph Journell, 56, of San Bernardino.

He lost his 14-year-old tabby cat Alexander and a four year old black-and-white cat in late November. A third cat was hospitalised for a week and tests showed that he was infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The unpasteurised milk came from lots recalled from Raw Farm of Fresno. This business's dairy products were pulled from California's store shelves in December after health officials found the virus in their milk. I did some research on the possibility of contracting bird flu from raw milk and my results are set out below. Apparently is rarely happens and therefore this man and his cats were unlucky.

He said that he has been drinking Raw Farm milk himself for several months because he was told that it was good for his immune system and that it had healing properties. He thought he may be able to improve the health of his cat Alexander who had been losing weight. He said that he was "trying to make him healthier and make him live longer".

He's seeking compensation in the sum of $12,000 from Raw Farm. It may be difficult to prove that because he'll have to prove what is called "causation". He'll have to prove that drinking the milk caused the infection. There will need to be a direct connection between the two and it is possible that the cats got bird flu from some other source. That I suspect will be the defence. The amount of the damages is high as moggie cats have sadly low value when the emotional loss is excluded.

The FDA say that cats should not be fed any products from affected farms if those products have not been thoroughly cooked or pasteurised to kill the virus.

I think that it unusual for a cat owner to give their cats unpasteurised, raw milk on the basis that most people give their cats tap water or commercially prepared cat milk. There is one last point to make: a sizeable percentage of domestic cats, perhaps a majority, are lactose intolerant and therefore drinking cow's milk either raw or pasteurised may well cause bloating and digestive track upset.

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Question: Is there an argument that drinking raw milk helps boost one's immunity to disease?

Yes, there are arguments made by proponents of raw milk that it can boost immunity to disease. These arguments are largely based on the idea that raw milk contains active enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and natural immunoglobulins that are thought to support gut health and strengthen the immune system. Here's a breakdown of their claims:

1. Probiotic Content

• Raw milk is unpasteurized, meaning it retains live bacteria, including probiotics like Lactobacillus. These are believed to improve gut health, which is closely linked to immune function.

2. Enzymes and Nutrients

• Advocates argue that pasteurization destroys enzymes such as lactase and phosphatase, which aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, possibly impacting the body's ability to fight disease.

3. Immunoglobulins

• Raw milk contains immunoglobulins (antibodies), which may help combat infections and diseases by supporting the immune system.

4. Reduction in Allergies and Asthma

• Some studies, like those involving the "farm effect," suggest that children who consume raw milk or live on farms have lower rates of allergies and asthma. This is attributed to early exposure to microbes that may help "train" the immune system.

5. Bioavailability of Nutrients

• Advocates argue that pasteurization reduces the bioavailability of certain vitamins and minerals, which could affect overall health and immunity.

The Counterarguments

Critics, including public health authorities like the CDC and FDA, counter these claims with concerns about the safety of raw milk. Pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria can be present in unpasteurized milk and pose significant health risks, particularly to vulnerable populations like children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals.

Scientific Evidence

The scientific evidence supporting raw milk's immunity-boosting effects is limited and mixed:

• While some observational studies suggest potential benefits, many do not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
• Rigorous controlled studies are scarce, and most health organizations emphasize the risks of foodborne illness over any potential benefits.

Bottom Line

While raw milk may contain certain bioactive components potentially beneficial for immunity, the associated risks of consuming unpasteurized products often outweigh these benefits for most individuals. It's essential to weigh these factors carefully and consult with a healthcare provider before incorporating raw milk into a diet.

Question: There is also the possibility of contracting bird flu from raw milk in the current climate with bird flu fairly prevalent in some districts. Correct?

The possibility of contracting bird flu (avian influenza) from raw milk is extremely low but not entirely impossible under specific circumstances, particularly if the milk is contaminated during production or handling. However, it is important to distinguish the specific risks and routes of transmission. Here's an analysis:

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Bird Flu and Raw Milk: The Risk

1. Transmission Mechanism of Bird Flu:

   • Bird flu viruses, such as H5N1 or H5N8, primarily spread through direct contact with infected birds, their secretions, or contaminated surfaces.
   • Consumption of raw milk or milk products is not a common route for bird flu transmission.

2. Contamination Risk:

   • If raw milk is sourced from a farm where poultry and dairy animals are in close proximity, contamination could theoretically occur through shared water supplies, feed, or equipment exposed to bird droppings carrying the virus.
   • Secondary contamination could occur during handling or processing if hygiene standards are poor.

3. Vulnerability of the Virus:

   • Influenza viruses are sensitive to heat, so cooking or pasteurizing milk would eliminate any virus particles.
   • In raw milk, the virus could survive for a limited period under specific conditions but is unlikely to thrive or multiply.

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Broader Concerns with Raw Milk:

While bird flu might be a less likely risk from raw milk consumption, other pathogens (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria) remain significant concerns. These pathogens are much more commonly associated with raw milk consumption and can lead to severe illness.

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Precautions for Raw Milk Consumers:

1. Source Reliability:

   • Ensure that the raw milk comes from a farm with strict biosecurity measures to prevent cross-contamination from poultry or other potential sources of pathogens.
   • Verify that the animals are healthy and tested regularly for infectious diseases.

2. Local Bird Flu Outbreaks:

   • If bird flu is prevalent in your district, extra caution should be taken, even if the risk through milk is low.
   • Avoid consuming raw milk from areas with known outbreaks.

3. Consider Pasteurization:

   • Pasteurization effectively eliminates potential pathogens in milk, including viruses and bacteria, making it a safer option.

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Conclusion:

The likelihood of contracting bird flu from raw milk is low but could exist if there is environmental contamination in areas with active outbreaks. This risk underscores the broader public health concern of consuming raw milk, which carries inherent dangers of other, more common foodborne illnesses. As always, consulting local health guidelines and choosing pasteurized dairy products can mitigate these risks significantly.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Can domestic cats get Mpox?

Yes, domestic cats can potentially contract Mpox (monkeypox), as it is a zoonosis (zoonotic disease) although it is rare. Transmission would likely occur through close contact with an infected person or animal. It’s important to monitor your pets if you or someone in your household has Mpox, and consult a veterinarian if you have concerns. Keeping pets away from infected individuals is a prudent measure to minimize risk. It is present in Europe but rare at present.

Mpox by Michael Broad

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 A zoonotic disease is one that can be transmitted from animals to humans and humans to animals. It crosses the human-animal 'barrier'.  Two other well-known zoonoses are: Covid-19 and toxoplasmosis. There are others.

Bovine TB in cats is zoonotic

The virus that gives cats colds (usually the herpes virus) cannot infect humans and humans with colds cannot give the disease to their cats.

Nearly always diseases are specific to cats. Almost all feline diseases cannot be given to humans.

Mpox - monkeypox- is a pretty nasty disease that has killed hundreds of kids in Africa, particularly the Republic of the Congo.

It is present in Europe and the Americas. There are no cases currently (Aug 2024) in the UK. Health officials are on their guard.

Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus. This genus also includes other viruses such as variola (which causes smallpox), vaccinia (used in the smallpox vaccine), and cowpox. Monkeypox virus is primarily found in certain animals in Central and West Africa.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Bird flu blinds barn cats and kills half in days on Texas farm

This is a cross post because it is an important story. It is also a tragic story as half of the 24 barn cats on this Texas farm died quickly of bird flu which they contracted, it is believed, from drinking the unpasteurised milk from the cows with which they lived. 

Barn cats drink unpasteurised milk in a milking barn and caught bird flu which killed them. This is a fictional image please note based on the image on the internet. 

Their deaths were unpleasant and painful. The story was announced by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which revealed that at least 24 cats on this Texas farm experienced severe health symptoms such as depression, body stiffness, ataxia (loss of coordination), blindness, circling and extreme upper respiratory infection with excessive mucus from their eyes and noses.

Autopsies were carried out on the cats some of whom had died in as little as two days after they fell ill. The virus had spread to their entire body, lungs, brains, heart and eyes.

It also believed the cats contracted the disease from infected cattle by being in close contact with them. Clearly, the disease is a zoonosis (zoonotic disease) because it is transferable from one species of animal to another.

The disease can be transmitted in saliva, droppings and other body fluids and as mentioned in consuming raw milk (colostrum) from the cows.

CDC obtained the bodies of two of the cats as well as samples of milk from the cows. They also examined tissue samples from six of the cows. Three of the cows were euthanized and three had died of the virus.

All the animals were revealed to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu, specifically the one designated 2.3.4.4b, a highly pathogenic variety that killed a dolphin in Florida recently.

The cats had microscopic lesions in their brains, heart and lungs. They examined photographs of the barn where they lived and saw that they drank milk from a designated bowl as well as directly from cows.

It appears that the symptoms were first observed in the cats and so CDC tested the cows in which they found symptoms including tiny lesions in their memory glands.

The situation with avian flu designated A(H5N1) has become serious in America. It first emerged in 1996 but since 2020 the number of outbreaks has increased rapidly with tens of millions of poultry killed and wild birds and land and marine animals also infected.

Being a zoonosis, the disease can be transferred to people and earlier in the month a dairy farm worker in Texas became the second American to become infected with the virus. The farmworker contracted a mild infection with just one symptom which was an inflammation of the eye and recovered well. They were placed into isolation.

It is believed that they didn't transfer the disease to others and were being treated with the drug Tamiflu. This occurred in Texas as well and is believed to be the first case of a human infected by avian influenza from a cow.

The virus is mutating making it easier to jump posts as happened with the Covid-19 virus.

Protections

Cats can be protected from A(H5N1) if they are given a vaccination. However, it’s important to note that cats can still shed some of the virus, albeit in low numbers. If a cat is exhibiting symptoms, it should be put into isolation and kept indoors. Then, it should be taken to a vet for testing to determine the presence of H5N1. Additionally, here are some other preventive measures for cat owners:

1. Limit Contact with Possible Vectors: To prevent the spread of H5N1 among cats, limit their contact with other possible vectors such as birds and cattle. Cats should also avoid contact with fomites, such as milking equipment.

2. Avoid Unpasteurized Milk: Do not allow cats to drink unpasteurized milk, as this could be a potential source of infection.

3. Minimize Unnecessary Contact: If highly pathogenic influenza viruses are found or suspected in a cat, minimize unnecessary contact. Use gloves, a mask, and goggles for protection when handling the cat.

Remember that while the risk of cat-to-human transmission of influenza is low, taking precautions is essential to protect both cats and humans. If you suspect your cat may have been exposed to A(H5N1), consult with a veterinarian promptly.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

"Link" between cat ownership and schizophrenia DOES NOT PROVE CAUSE AND EFFECT

As usual, from time to time the news media like to claim that owning a cat can cause schizophrenia. They cite studies and a new one has recently been published. But the news media reporters tend or always miss a very important point which I'll explain.

In broad terms you can categorise scientific studies into two groups: those that are observational and those that prove cause and effect.

Observational studies

These simply observe what is going on and report on it. So in the study referred to (see citation at base of this post) they found the following: "Our findings support an association between cat exposure and an increased risk of broadly defined schizophrenia-related disorders" and this: "We found that individuals exposed to cats had approximately twice the odds of developing schizophrenia". But this does not prove that owning a cat increases the chances of the owner developing schizophrenia.

It might but it is not proved scientifically through a detailed scientific analysis of the transference of the zoonotic disease T. Gondii from the cat to the person. The argument is that T. Gondii causes schizophrenia. But the observed cat owners might be predisposed to schizophrenia for any number of reasons and they just happen to own a cat.

Or the results might be explained by the fact that people who have fragile minds are more likely to adopt a cat for support and company as they find it harder to find a partner who accepts them. That last point is probably the most likely reason for this link between exposure to cats and schizophrenia-related disorders.

Cause and effect

I have touched on this above. The study would have to prove through hard science that cats caused these illnesses and as far as I know they have not. The study in question reviewed 17 early studies over 44 years.

I have done a lot of work on this topic and I have never seen it proved that cats cause schizophrenia-related illnesses.

One last point: often scientists have an axe to grind. They might dislike cats. Or they are funded by businesses who dislike cats. Or governments who have an agenda such as to keep cats inside the home full-time to protect native species or protect native species by reducing the domestic cat population. This kind of study might put people off adopting a cat for instance.

Click the following link to read another article about cat poop causing mental illness: Inconclusive study does not find Toxoplasma gondii infection causes schizophrenia in people.

Conclusion

Beware studies in general. Many are excellent and very useful but some are not. A recent story from the UK reported that one online journal deleted 40,000 studies as they were dubious. It is believed that they were churned out to boost the scientists' CV. They were fake and the journal had not been rigorous enough in vetting them.

RELATED: Beware of "bad science" research papers published online.

The study

John J McGrath, Carmen C W Lim, Sukanta Saha, Cat Ownership and Schizophrenia-Related Disorders and Psychotic-Like Experiences: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2023;, sbad168, https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbad168

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Friend tells pregnant woman that she is a bad mother because she won't get rid of her cats

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is a story which probably happens not infrequently inside homes across the planet. And it's a bit sad that two workplace friends fell out when one of them became pregnant and insisted on keeping her four cats despite the protestations of her friend.

Pregnant women don't have to get rid of their cat because there are alternative ways of dealing with a potential infection of Toxoplasma gondii which can be highly effective and protect the baby completely.

And what is doubly upsetting is that other workplace women agreed with her friend that he should give up her cats. It seems that they might have ostracised her to a certain extent.

The woman in question has lived with cats all her life. She has four cats; all rescues by the way which is great. She was baffled by her friend insisting that she get rid of the cats to protect her unborn baby.

The story comes from Reddit.com. The pregnant woman is 30 years of age and her friend, Josie, is 28. The pregnant woman has been married for 10 years.

As sooner as her friend found out that she was pregnant she went into a long description of why the cats had to go and why pregnant women should not change the cat litter boxes to protect the unborn child.

She was somewhat baffled by the advice. I think she knew about toxoplasmosis already and as she had grown up with cats all her life, she thought that if she was going to get the disease she would have been infected already. A good percentage of people are infected by toxoplasmosis without realising it because the disease is asymptomatic.

But the big point is this one: she's got a husband who can change the litter box! There was no need for this pregnant woman to take any chances.

The point here is that pregnant women don't have to get rid of their cats because there are better ways of dealing with this potential health problem concerning the unborn child. Although this potential health problem is, I agree, a serious one.

Another point worth making is that nearly all toxoplasmosis infections in humans come from eating undercooked food, handling uncooked food or drinking unpasteurised milk. The source is food rather than the domestic cat.

The problem is this: the parasite which causes a Toxoplasma gondii infection can cross the placenta and infect the developing foetus where it can cause congenital toxoplasmosis.

RELATED: Truth about Toxoplasmosis and Cats - click to read this article for more on this topic.

The severity of the infection depends upon the gestation age at which the mother becomes infected.

If the infection is early, it is generally more severe. The unborn child can experience a range of complications including birth defects, stillbirth or miscarriage. The birth defects can include hearing loss, intellectual disabilities, blindness, I inflammation, visual impairments or neurological disorders.

Infected unborn children, once born may not show symptoms at birth but they can develop complications later in life such as hearing problems or cognitive development problems.

Common sense precautions are the answer. Pregnant women should practise good hygiene through hand washing after handling raw meat and, as mentioned, avoiding contact with cat litter boxes. Raw vegetables should be washed thoroughly.

Lastly, domestic cats get a bad rap for being a vector of Toxoplasma gondii. They are only infective for about 10 days in their entire life. It is not as if they are carrying the disease all their lives and can spread it to hundreds of people. It doesn't work like that. People who provide advice like this woman should understand toxoplasmosis a little more thoroughly before handing down advice to pregnant women.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis or a zoonotic disease because it can infect both animals and people and cross between them.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

European Union tells cat owners to keep their cats indoors full-time (in certain areas)

The headline may surprise you. In Europe, the default cat ownership M.O. is to allow cats and indoor/outdoor life. Things are changing but that is the current method. However, the worst-ever outbreak of bird flu has hit the European continent which led to the European Food Safety Authority deciding to make the announcement. Twenty-four cats in Poland tested positive for the virus and the authority fears that avian influenza could be evolving to spread among mammals.

Notes about bird flu, domestic cats and people.

Cats on a farm as exposed to bird flu. Image: MikeB

As you probably know, bird flu is zoonotic which means that it can be transmitted between different animal species. Even people can get it. And if cats can get it from birds, then theoretically at least cats can give it to people. The disease has the potential for being quite serious. I suppose there is even a technical possibility that it could create another pandemic.

Since late 2021, bird flu has killed millions of birds in Europe and in other countries. Sixty-seven countries on five continents reported (H5N1) outbreaks. More than 131 million poultry have either died of bird flu or been killed by farmers to prevent the spread of bird flu.

And although we know that 24 cats tested positive for bird flu as mentioned, outbreaks in other areas have led to 26 different species contracting the disease including farmed mink in Spain. This is highly concerning for the authorities.

The European Food Safety Authority wants there to be less exposure of the disease to domestic cats and dogs and to achieve that objective they said: "Possible measures are keeping dogs on a leash, and confining cats indoors in areas where extensive circulation of HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] viruses in wild birds has been confirmed."

Around 70 domestic cats might have died of bird flu in Poland since June 23. The World Health Organisation said that "some mammals may act as mixing vessels for influenza viruses, leading to the emergence of new viruses that could be harmful to animals and humans."

They added that, "Avian influenza viruses normally spread among birds, but the increasing number of H5N1 avian influenza detections among mammals-which are biologically closer to humans than birds are-raises concern that the virus might adapt to infect humans more easily."

Cats can get bird flu by eating raw chicken necks and experts recommend feeding raw chicken necks to domestic cats

You may have heard about the bird flu outbreak among domestic cats in Poland. It is reported that at least 24 sick or dead cats tested positive for H5N1 in Poland according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. There are uncertainties about how the cats contracted the disease but 13 were found to have been fed raw poultry meat.

Bird flu. Image: MikeB

My mind then jumped to advice that you can read on the Internet from various sources including veterinary websites about the benefit of feeding domestic cats with the raw neck of poultry because it is very good for the teeth and it is cartilaginous which minimises the harm that they might experience when biting into bones.

You can also feed domestic cats bird wings. Once again, the idea is to improve gum health because, to be frank, the large pelleted dry cat food is not that great at cleaning teeth and preventing the buildup of calculus along the gum line.

Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM and author recommends feeding raw chicken to cats so that they can bite on bone. There is a risk but he argues that the benefit outweighs the risk.

At present, with a bird flu epidemic in Poland and with bird flu present in other countries including the UK, I would suggest that people should not feed their cat companions with chicken neck because the risk/reward balance has been shifted by the presence of bird flu.

"H5N8 and H5N1 bird flu have been found in some poultry, other captive birds and wild birds in the UK." - NHS

The disease is zoonotic and therefore it can be transmitted from birds to cats as we can see from the Polish problem. In Poland, incidentally, one cat owner said that she feed her cat raw chicken purchased from a large supermarket chain. Within days of eating the raw chicken her cat became drowsy. A veterinarian suspected a cold but within days her cat began to lose balance and she fell off a chair.

Her hind legs were paralysed and she stopped eating completely. Antibiotics and steroids were unable to help and the cat died seven days after eating the raw meat.

2 instances when cat many owners destroyed their cats believing they'd catch a fatal disease from them

There have been a couple of high-profile instances when many cat owners deliberately destroyed their cat companions because they believed that they might catch a fatal disease from them.

AIDS in humans set off panic in nervous cat owners who killed their cats. Image: CNN.

FIV

Feline AIDS as it is sometimes called or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) was discovered in 1986. In June 1981, the first cases of the illness now known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported from Los Angeles in five young homosexual men diagnosed with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and other opportunistic infections (CDC).

The news media reported on FIV in a way which scared the population into believing that they could catch the disease from their cats.

This led to some cat owners panicking and killing their cats. Within hours of the newspaper reports nervous cat owners were taking their cats to shelters and asking them to euthanise them or find new homes.

Eventually the news media researched the facts and reported that the virus that causes feline AIDS was not zoonotic i.e., it cannot be transmitted to humans but the damage had been done and many cats were killed unnecessarily.

It is true that the viruses causing human and feline AIDS belong to the same group of viruses but they are distantly related. There is no way a cat can give a human the disease even by biting and scratching them.

Covid

When this disease was first reported in the news media, I can well remember the effect it had on nervous cat owners in China. Those in high rise apartment blocks began throwing their cats out of the windows to their deaths on the paving below.

Cats thrown from tower blocks in China during the early days of the Covid pandemic. Image in public domain.

I reported on this on Feb 1st 2020: SHOCK HORROR- CORONAVIRUS, CHINA: Panicked Chinese Are Throwing Their Cats Out of Tower Block Windows.

It was dire. And then as the pandemic progressed thousands of cat owners abandoned their pets in locked apartments for them to die of starvation. It was utterly mad.

At the time there was no media reports of the possibility of contracting the disease from companion animals so these cat killings were entirely out of panic. 

As it transpired it was found that Covid is zoonotic and can infect people. And people can get the disease from pets but even at the end of the pandemic there have been exceptionally few examples.

Toxoplasma gondii infections in Chinese and ethnic minority races in China mainly caused by eating raw meats

The people who dislike cats say that cat owners and other people get toxoplasma gondii infections from cats through cat faeces as the feces can contain oocysts for a short period. And there's lots of discussion on the Internet about this and whether a pregnant woman should have a domestic cat companion. Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease.

But the experts, and I would include myself in that, say that the major way people contract toxoplasma gondii infections is through their handling of and their eating of certain foods. I'm referring to undercooked or uncooked foods and handling raw foods and then using their hands to eat cooked foods. This creates cross contamination.

And in this vein, I've picked up a study on the Internet about Toxoplasma gondii infections in humans in China dated 2011.

The study is interesting because in certain parts of China they have very specific eating habits. Sometimes these eating habits exacerbate the likelihood of contracting toxoplasmosis.

The first human case of toxoplasmosis in China was reported in 1964 and there were many human cases reported in China after an epidemic survey on toxoplasmosis was carried out in Guangxi province in 1978. The difficulty is that it is hard to glean information from Chinese documents because little information is published in English.

Interestingly, and this point needs to be made, based upon the documents surveyed, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in humans in China is lower than in France for example (50-75% seropositive). A lot lower in fact. Although in the provinces in China the incidences of toxoplasmosis increased from 5.2% in 1988 to 7.9% in 2004.

Guizhou province and Guangxi province had the highest levels of prevalence at 15.1% and 12.7% respectively. The ethic group Miao and the highest incidence of Toxoplasma gondii infections in people at 25.4%.

They state that the eating habits of the ethnic groups surveyed were an important part in being infected. For example, people living in south-west China enjoy eating raw or half-raw meat. Or they eat animal organs as part of their tradition. They might eat sour-meat or pork or beef which is half-raw. The Mongol people like to eat their traditional food using their hands after contact with animals or raw meat (Mongolian Finger Mutton).

The study points to the fact that the greatest risk of being infected with toxoplasma gondii is through eating or handling raw meat. A toxoplasma gondii infection is usually harmless (asymptomatic) but can cause serious illness.

The incidence of Chinese citizens with tuberculosis and hepatitis B of a toxoplasma gondii infection was much higher at 35.3% and 19.2% respectively. Most of the cases were chronic infections. And they state that "70% of individuals infected with T gondii and tuberculosis had the experience of intimate contact with animals."

The study concluded that the oral route of a T. gondii infection is the major route. And pigs in China are often infected. The infection rate in pigs in some parts of China is 53.4% whereas in the USA it is 2.7%. The Chinese like their pork. As I recall, they are the biggest consumers of pork in the world.

The conclusion that one takes from the study is that the greatest risk of being infected with T gondii is through the handling and eating of raw or semi-raw meats due to cultural traditions.

In the West, such as in America, the greatest risk will be through handling raw meat in the kitchen. Veterinarians will tell you that people get the disease from eating raw or undercooked pork, beef, mutton or veal or unpasteurised dairy products which contain toxoplasma organisms.

It is the handling of these products and the consuming of them and the necessary regulations and advice issued by governments concerning these matters that count in terms of reducing infections. 

Educational programs are important to help people change their habit of consuming undercooked meat. Lastly, water that hasn't been boiled in certain districts of China are an issue because oocysts can survive up to 3 years and be transmitted by water through direct drinking.

The study: Zhou, P., Chen, Z., Li, HL. et al. Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in China. Parasites Vectors 4, 165 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-4-165

Russians searching for 400,000 year old prehistoric paleoviruses in Siberia (BIOLOGICAL WARFARE?)

NEWS AND OPINION: Scientists at the Vector research center in the Novosibirsk region of Siberia are analysing the remains of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses together with other ice age animals to find and revive prehistoric paleoviruses.

Photo: Semyon Grigoryev/NEFU

Some of these viruses have been in the permafrost of their area for 200,000-400,000 years. A professor from the National Center of Scientific Research at the University of Aix Marseille, Jean-Michel Claverie, said:

"The Vector research is very, very risky. Our immune systems have never encountered these types of viruses. Some of them could be 200,000 or even 400,000 years old".

He said that these viruses that killed the mammoths and other prehistoric animals would be able to infect humans. In other words they are zoonotic.

It's noteworthy that the Vector state research center of virology and biotechnology is one of 59 maximum-security bar labs in the world. It is a former Soviet biological weapons laboratory.

It is only one of two bio centres that are allowed to keep samples of the deadly smallpox virus. The other is in the United States. The Vector center has a relatively poor reputation because of a number of accidents occurring at the facility.

In 2019 a fire broke out at the facility which is heavily guarded. The fire injured a worker and shattered windows. There were fears that the public would be exposed to deadly pathogens.

In 2000 for a researcher died when she accidentally pricked herself with a needle containing the Ebola virus.

Finally, the laboratory is inspected every two years by the World Health Organisation but, in 2019 the team from the World Health Organisation were unable to observe the researchers conducting practical work because it was closed for scheduled maintenance ostensibly.

The most recent report is dated 2019.

The French have also been involved in similar projects concerning paleoviruses but there's a difference. Last month, in 2022, French scientists announced that they had revived a zombie virus which had been under a lake bed in Yakutia for 50,000 years. However, they were focusing on amoeba-infecting viruses which are almost no danger to humans.

The concern here, as I read the report in The Times is that the Russians are digging up frozen mammoths in order to try and find a virus that can be used against their perceived enemies in biowarfare.

This is a reasonable supposition bearing in mind Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the barbaric, murderous way he is killing civilians in what are quite clearly war crimes.

They want to awaken dormant ancient viruses to further terrorise the world. That is my personal thought on this report.

Forgive me for not discussing cats on this occasion. Although this story does indirectly relate to domestic cats because, for the obvious reason, if people are killed then their cat companions are also killed if they have them. And anything which can harm people in large numbers can also harm domestic cat companions. There is a direct connection.

Animals need jabs against zoonotic diseases to prevent pandemics

Zoonotic diseases are those which can transfer from animals to people. The classic case is the Covid pandemic. Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, the creator of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid which proved so successful and which saved millions of lives, has stated that vaccines and new treatment should be developed to protect animals against diseases that can prove deadly when they jump to humans.

Vaccines against these zoonotic diseases could play a major role in avoiding the next pandemic. Minds are focused on the next pandemic. The monkeypox virus which is currently an issue in the UK is a good example although that will not create a pandemic. However, it's a virus that has been a threat for a long time and it has changed its nature. And it is zoonotic.

Gilbert said that influenza A was around in wild birds for a long time and it started to infect poultry flocks and so I could still spill over into humans. She believes that there is a lot that can be done to protect domestic animals against these infections to avoid humans being exposed to them.

Of course, this also concerns cats and dogs as well as livestock. Covid did infect both captive wild cats and relatively a very few domestic cats. There was a discussion at one time about the possibility of domestic animals creating a reservoir for the virus which may then come back to us in the future perhaps mutated.

There is a need to look forward to prevent the devastation that Covid caused the world. There is also a need, I must add, to demand that the Chinese government compensate the world for the devastation that they caused due to their careless approach to the slaughter of wild animals at wet markets which is now accepted as one plausible cause of the pandemic because those markets allowed the transmission of zoonotic diseases from animals such as pangolins to the people in the market is doing the slaughtering.

How to avoid getting toxoplasmosis from your indoor cat's faeces

I believe that the disease toxoplasmosis is somewhat underrated by many cat caregivers probably because the symptoms in people and cats are often all but invisible. But many are asymptomatically infected. 

The 24-hour window

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most prominent detriments to the overwhelming benefits of living with a domestic cat companion. A lot has been spoken about the danger of getting toxoplasmosis from your cat's faeces. This comes from the fact that domestic cats being the primary vector of the disease shed toxoplasma gondii oocysts in faeces for a short period of time after they been exposed to it.

Toxoplasma gondii oocyst

Although this is a one-off event covering a 2-week period it does happen, which is why domestic cats are heavily criticised by people who dislike cats. But the CDC in America tells us something very important about the shedding of oocysts in cat faeces and it is this. They say that they are only infective (i.e. capable of passing on the disease) after they've been in the environment i.e. outside of the domestic cat for more than one day and between 1-5 days.

Therefore, there is a window between the moment a domestic cat defecates in the cat litter to 24 hours later when their faeces are not infective in terms of the toxoplasma gondii protozoan. That being accepted, if a cat owner cleans out the litter tray every day within 24 hours of it being used by their cat, they will not be exposed to infective toxoplasma oocysts.

This is provided they have been careful in cleaning the litter tray the day before and ensured that no faeces remain. To recap, if a cat caregiver ensures that they thoroughly clean the litter tray daily (on a strict basis) they should pretty well eliminate the possibility of being infected by this zoonotic disease through contact with a cat's faeces. I think that is quite an important statement because it deals effectively with this mode of transmission which has been discussed a lot on the Internet.

No raw treats or unpasteurised milk

And what I said above can be supported by this further information. If you only provide an indoor cat with commercially manufactured cat food there is no possibility that they can ingest the protozoan in food. However, if you feed them raw pork or beef or unpasteurised dairy products which might contain the toxoplasma organism, and they might contract the disease. So, there's two sides to this preventative process. You don't let your cat ingest the protozoan and you prevent them transmitting the protozoan through their faeces as described above. Tackled this way I don't perceive a problem with this disease for a family who looks after a full-time indoor cat.

Clean it every 24 hours for indoor cats to avoid a toxoplasma gondii infection from cat feces. Photo: Warren Photographic.

Children exposed to cats and mental health when adults

Today, I also read about a study which stated that, on my interpretation, children exposed to the family's domestic cat are 8 percent more likely to suffer from some sort of mental health problem when they are an adult compared to those adults who were not exposed to a domestic cat when there are children. 

In round terms, what the study concluded is that due to the possibility of being infected with toxoplasmosis when they are children, they are more likely to have mental health problems because of the presence of this disease in the brain when they are adults. It's a relatively small added risk but it is, at 8%, recognisable.

Please click on this link when you have finished reading this page for a cross-post on this topic.

We don't need to believe in the study but we should at least take note of it. Clearly, the tip about the cat litter that I mention above is significant in eliminating this added risk. Particularly as it is probably not unlikely that children will be assisting the household by cleaning out the cat litter tray. 

If they follow the method that I have mentioned it should all but eliminate the risk and place children with cats on a par with other children who don't come into contact with a cat in terms of mental health when they are adults.

Mouse bite: supporting evidence that the Covid pandemic started in the Wuhan biolab

The world is still trying to figure out how the Covid pandemic started. Although China is trying to deflect blame by saying that it started in a country other than their own, it's clear that it started in China but did it start in the Wuhan biolab or in a wet market?

Mouse in biolab. Photo: Pixabay.

More scientists now believe that the Wuhan biolab may have been the originating place of this devastating pandemic. It's looking more plausible for various reasons and recently, in particular, because a Taiwanese woman was twice bitten by a mouse that had been deliberately infected with the Delta variant of the Covid virus. 

She contracted the disease. It's clear that she got the disease from the mouse because the woman was double vaccinated and had not travelled abroad and there had been no domestic transmissions in Taiwan for more than a month. The only possible plausible route of infection were the mouse bites.

This establishes the possibility that mice that were used in the Wuhan biolab might have bitten a lab worker in the same way and the lab worker might have passed the disease to others when they left work to go home.

The Wuhan biolab I'm referring to is the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A Chinese public health expert at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, Yangzhong Huang, said: "If the lab worker is confirmed to have been infected at her workplace, then this will add credibility to the lab leak theory."

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is situated on the outskirts of the central Chinese city, just a few miles from the wildlife market associated with several early cases of Covid-19. And we know that China's "bat woman", the expert on coronaviruses, Shi Zhengli, used mice to test the impact of modified bat viruses in "gain-of-function" experiments. She has vehemently and angrily denied the possibility.

The genetic adaptation of animal pathogens is frowned upon by some scientists because it's dangerous. People fear the escape of artificially created viruses, which might have happened as discussed.

American and British government investigations have concluded that the Wuhan lab leak theory is at least plausible. Of course, Beijing has reacted angrily to the suggestions.. They have blocked international investigations (which implies guilt I've got to say) and have pushed conspiracy theories that the virus started in Italy and certainly not in China.

It is known that viral infections transmitted to the public can originate in laboratory workers who acquired the infection during their work. It's happened before in laboratories in Taiwan, Singapore and China in 2003 and 2004 during research into the SARS coronavirus.

Testing cats for Covid-19 in Texas. Photo: Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Postscript: I would briefly like to touch on the issue as to whether domestic cats can get Covid. Some people ask Google search whether domestic cats can get Covid. That to me seems like a silly question because we know that Covid is a zoonotic disease. This means that it can transmit from animals to people and vice versa. We know that animals are getting Covid from people as it has happened in zoos with a variety of animals including the big cats. 

And we know that some domestic cats, albeit very few, have caught Covid from their human caregivers. But it's a given that family pets can get the disease. The question should not be asked. The whole point of this disease is that it jumps from people to animals and as the human is a human-animal we are as capable of transmitting the disease to other animals, and other humans, as animals are.

Dr Amy Wilson, veterinarian and ecologist wants to limit free-roaming cats to protect wildlife

Professor Amy Wilson's research concluded that domestic cats are likely to blame for the spread of toxoplasma gondii to wildlife in urban areas where there are lots of cats. The researchers examined 45,079 cases of toxoplasmosis in wild animals. They found a correlation between the density of humans in urban areas and the likelihood of infection of the toxoplasmosis in wildlife. That is: the more dense the human population the more likely wild animals will be infected by zoonotic diseases such as toxoplasma gondii.

Professor Dr Amy Wilson veterinarian and ecologist. Photo: her bio page online.

Dr Wilson blames free-roaming domestic cats and feral cats for the 'most likely cause of the infections'.

She says that her research is "significant because by simply limiting free-roaming of cats, we can reduce the impact of Toxoplasma on wildlife.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: It Is Time to Stop Denigrating the Domestic Cat with Spurious Links between Toxoplasmosis and Human Mental Health

She states that one cat can excrete 500 oocysts in 14 days. But it should be noted this happens once in a cat's lifetime (my comment). 

"These infective oocysts are only passed for a very short time after initial exposure" (Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook).

But these tough eggs can live for 5 years in soil where they can infect animals and humans. Humans and animals have to ingest the oocysts.

ASSOCIATED: Truth about Toxoplasmosis and Cats

A lot has been written about toxoplasmosis. A lot of it derogatory for the cat. It is nearly always asymptomatic in cats and humans. When the immune system is compromised it can cause ill-health.

Professor Wilson also says that maintaining healthy habitats and ecosystems helps to protect wildlife. She said:

"We know that when wetlands are destroyed or streams are restricted, we are more likely to experience runoff that carries more pathogens into the waters where wild animals drink or live. And when their habitats are healthy, wildlife thrives and tends to be more disease-resistant."

The study: "Human density is associated with the increased prevalence of a generalist zoonotic parasite in mammalian wildlife” by Amy G. Wilson, Scott Wilson, Niloofar Alavi and David R. Lapen, 20 October 2021, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Link: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1724

China: three domestic cats euthanized after they contracted Covid

NEWS AND COMMENT - HARBIN, NORTHERN CHINA: This is the first time that a government agency has killed domestic cats because they'd contracted Covid-19. Or at least it is the first time that such an action has been reported in the online news media. 

This is unrelated to the story except that it is in China. Pictures in public domain. Image by MikeB.

Ironically, the owner of the three cats tested positive for Covid on September 21 and went into isolation after leaving food and water out for her cats. Therefore, there is a strong suggestion that she gave her cats the virus. And further in a rather bizarre twist, the cats were euthanized because they might spread the disease to people and there is no treatment for Covid in cats.

Update: Some sites give Miss Liu the title Mrs. They say her cats were killed while she was in hospital. 

That's the reason given by the authorities in Harbin, northern China. And yet, all the experts say that it is unlikely that cats can transmit Covid to people. Personally, I argue that they can transmit Covid to people because the disease is zoonotic and therefore it travels between animals and people and vice versa but it is going to be rare and isolation steps can be taken. Notwithstanding that there have been no known cases of transmission of the disease from cats to people.

And, further, all the cases of domestic cat contracting the disease have shown that symptoms in domestic are mild and they resolve without treatment. That is the status regarding cats and Covid. Once again, notwithstanding this open information, which must've been known to the Harbin authorities, they decided to kill the cats.

"I never wanted to blame anyone, I just wanted to find them a chance to stay alive, but that chance was never given." - Mrs Liu.

The owner's name is Miss Liu and she appealed online to save the cats but her plea was ignored. The owner and cats live in an apartment complex. A community worker tested the cats for coronavirus twice and on each occasion the result was positive.

Shen Yi, a professor at Shanghai-based Fudan University said:

"From the perspective of public health crisis management and control, euthanizing the three cats is a decisive measure to minimize negative effects and avoid worst results."

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Authorities in China are threatening to cull domestic cats and dogs in coronavirus scare.

The story was original reported by Beijing News online. I have searched the website and I can't find it. I wanted to find it because it is said that the article drew 52,000 comments; an extraordinary number and I wanted to see what the citizens of China thought about the killing of the three cats. I will have to guess: they hated it. They felt that it was unfair and unreasonable. They could have been put into quarantine and then retested. To kill them callously is an indication of the low value that they placed on domestic cats. People who like cats will be upset by the story.

ASSOCIATED: City of Shenzhen, China prepares to ban cat and dog meat

Early on in the pandemic there was a spate of domestic cat killings by their owners. On occasion cats and dogs were thrown out of high-rise apartments because panic developed among the citizens of China. There are many great cat caregivers in China, probably hundreds of millions of, but they have the stain of the cat and dog meat markets in the south of the country. That stain overrides everything I say with respect to the human-to-cat relationship in China. As long as they brutally kill cats to eat them you can never claim that the citizens of China love their cats.

Calls for zoo animals to be Covid vaccinated as 9 big cats at one zoo get the disease

NEWS AND VIEWS - WASHINGTON ZOO: The time has come to vaccinate zoo animals against Covid both in the interests of their health and welfare and of humans visiting these zoos and the employees. Nine big cats, lions and tigers, contracting the disease is the largest outbreak that I have heard about at a zoo.

Covid outbreak at Washington Zoo affecting 9 big cats. Photos: Pixabay. These are not the cats in the story.

The zoo administration doesn't know how they got the disease. Their workers all wear masks apparently. In the past zoo animals have caught Covid from zoo workers. Who else? No one is near enough to them to transmit this zoonotic disease.

The cats are being treated with anti-inflammatories, anti-nausea meds and antibiotics (possible secondary bacterial infection in the lungs). The patients comprise: Six African lions, one Sumatran tiger, and two Amur tigers. Their symptoms are: decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing and lethargy.

It is believed that they are not a risk to customers. The USDA has approved the inoculation of zoo animals to Covid. The first jabs will be administered to certain zoo animals at the Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia when they become accessible in the following months. Other zoos have started to vaccinate their animals.

It is time as the problem appears to be getting worse. Russia has or is developing a Covid vaccine for animals. I wonder if this story will prompt the vaccination of domestic cats and dogs? It has been on the cards for a while. It is thought that animals might become a reservoir for the disease and maintain it when it has been substantially diminished among humans.

Can cats spread bubonic plague to people?

The book Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook, states: "This disease is of concern because of potential cat-to-human transmission". Although, people should not be too concerned in my opinion because the disease is spread by flea bites (and fleas rarely bite people and the disease is very rare) but it can be transmitted by airborne exposure. I believe that the airborne exposure transmission as a result of it showing up as a septicaemic disease in the bloodstream or pneumonic plague in the lungs, in which case, cats may spread the disease by coughing out infected droplets.

This is a mash-up collage by MikeB. The newspaper is from the time of the bubonic plague and the American man with the destroyed hands was bitten by his cat who had swallowed a rat that had eaten a flea that was infected with the plague.

I'm told that the most common mode of transmission to humans is the bite of an infected flea and cats and dogs can bring the flea to their human companion from plague-infective wildlife such as a rodent. A sick cat can also transmit the bacteria to others through bites or scratches.

Bubonic plague is caused by bacteria called Yersinia pestis. There are 13 cases of bubonic plague in people in the United States annually. The disease may be on the increase. Nearly all cases occur in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

Cats can acquire the disease by mouth contact with infected rodents or by the bite of infected fleas. Cats are susceptible to the disease, although thankfully the infection is mild or asymptomatic in around 50% of cases.

Shortly after exposure to the disease cats show signs of illness including: difficulty breathing, coughing, mouth ulcers, dehydration, depression and apathy, loss of appetite and high fever.

Swellings occur in the lymph nodes especially beneath the jaw. They form abscesses containing infective material. A veterinarian will diagnose the disease by a chest x-ray, blood tests to check for antibodies, blood and tissue cultures and gram stains.

My book also tells me that "great care must be taken by all people involved in the care of a plague-infected cat." Strict hygiene and isolation precautions should be in place after professional advice. The cat should be hospitalised. The disease can kill quickly. Treatment should be started before the diagnosis is confirmed. Antibiotics are prescribed but they maybe need to be given four weeks.

Preventative measures include the control of fleas as the most important proactive step. Reducing the roaming and hunting of cats reduces their exposure to plague.

The plague is not found in the UK. It is in the USA and Africa, Asia, South America. When the black death as it was called in the 17th-century hit England in the late 1300s the experts initially believed that cats were spreading the disease. They killed all the cats which made the situation worse because it was the fleas on the rats which was perpetuating the disease.

Cat owners ignore information about transmitting Covid-19 to their cat

NEWS AND COMMENT: We have seen a lot of information recently in the news media about people who have contracted Covid-19 passing it on to their cat companions. This is, after all, a zoonotic disease and therefore this sort of transmission, between species, is entirely plausible and possible. In some cases, it is more likely to happen, they say, such as when your cat snuggles up with you on your bed at night.

 Cat owners ignore information about transmitting Covid-19 to their cat. Image: MikeB

A study of 48 cats and 54 dogs in 77 households were tested for antibodies to this disease. They analysed how owners interacted with their pets including how often they petted and kissed them and whether they allowed them to sit on their lap and sleep in their bed. They also tested cats and dogs living in an animal shelter for Covid antibodies.

More than two thirds of the cats in homes and 40% of the dogs in homes tested positive for antibodies which showed that they had been exposed to Covid and their immune system had reacted to create antibodies.

Only 9% of cats and dogs in the animal shelter had Covid antibodies.

More than 20% of the owners had symptoms of coronavirus. Cats who spent more time with their owners including on the bed had a higher risk of being infected by their owners. They were surprised at the ease at which Covid transmitted from people to pets. And they highlighted the increased chance of transmission when both person and pet are in bed together.

Okay, I'll stop there on the study because what it's saying is that when cats and their human companion are together the disease is going to be transmitted which we know already because it is a contagious disease. And as often mentioned it is a zoonotic disease.

But the big point about this in my honest opinion is that not one cat owner is going to change their sleeping arrangements with their cat! No cat owner is going to change their routines and habits in the way they interact with their cat because of this research. I certainly haven't. I don't think the research has any real value other than the fact that some scientists are concerned about animals creating a reservoir of the disease which may re-emerge in the future.

One reason why people are going to ignore this information is because cats have very mild symptoms when they get the disease. They cure themselves quite quickly and it appears that they are not in any danger of suffering from severe symptoms requiring veterinary treatment. You're not going to interfere with the bond between a person and their cat companion on the basis that they might transmit this disease to their cat resulting in mild symptoms or the cat is asymptomatic.

If I'm correct, and I'm confident I am, it is in stark contrast to how people react to the possibility of getting the disease from another person. And the reason for this difference is because even in homes where a person loves their cat, they still regard the cat as "just a cat". It is hard to admit it but by-and-large in societies generally across the planet, the domestic cat is valued much lower than the human being.

Therefore, if a person gives their cat the disease the impact is slight on the person. It depends on the relationship obviously and I'm generalising as I must do. But all in all, the research has little value other than to scientists. It does not impinge upon the consciousness of cat owners.

Is India creating a reservoir for Covid-19 in its animal population?

It has been mooted before that there is a potential for a reservoir of the Covid-19 virus to be built up within the animal population both domestic and wild and this issue needs to be addressed. It comes to mind particularly because I was a little shocked but perhaps unsurprised to read that 35 zookeepers at Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological Park have tested positive for the virus. As a consequence eight of the zoo's Asiatic lions contracted the disease. It is believed, and it's entirely plausible, that the lions contracted the disease from zookeepers, surrounded as they were by a large number of infected humans.

Asiatic lion that caught Covid-19 from one of 35 zookeepers who tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: Jam Press.

The experts still say that there is no evidence that lions and other animals can transmit the disease back to humans but it seems entirely possible and indeed likely that they do because as this disease can travel between human and animal, it can move between animal and human. After all that's exactly how humans got it in the first place i.e. from a wet market in Wuhan ostensibly from a pangolin which got the disease from a bat but because China has been so secretive about it we don't know for sure.

The idea of animals, regrettably, forming a reservoir for the disease is brought into focus by this story from Hyderabad, India. India is suffering an enormous surge in infections at over 400,000 per day at the date of this post. They are grossly underestimating, or misrepresenting for political reasons, the deaths which everybody realises. The pictures of funeral pyres in car parks tells the true story. The death rate is probably 10 times higher than the official figures whoch are at around 3,500 dead. This would make the true figure near 35k.

Indeed, the BBC reported on 13 funeral pyres outside, I believe. Modi's residence and the government declared that there were just seven so a blatant misrepresentation has been perpetrated but the news is obviously distorted.

The point though is that when there are such vast numbers of infections, and the infection level is probably much higher than the high level stated, it seems highly likely that animals are being infected at a similar rate but nobody knows what is going on because India is overrun by this virus.

The Indian government does not want to put the country back into lockdown because around 80% of the 400 million Indian workforce are casual labourers being paid by the day. If they don't work they don't earn anything and they can starve to death. In the last lockdown they all went back to their homes so Modi and his government can't lock the country down to try and curb the virus.

Despite being the global centre of vaccination production, India is running out of vaccination and their rate of vaccination is incredibly low because of catastrophic logistics. It just seems to be a complete disaster, top to bottom, and there is going to be a long, long journey back to normality if and when it happens.

Can I get toxoplasmosis from petting my cat?

No, you cannot get toxoplasmosis from petting your cat. You might get it from handling faeces from your cat in which there are toxoplasma gondii oocysts. It is rare though. A child might get them on her hands if she plays in a sandpit where a cat has pooped. The child then may put her hands into her mouth, as children do, and ingest the oocysts which would cause an infection in the child. But, I stress, you cannot get toxoplasmosis from petting your cat.

T. gondii oocyst. Image: MikeB.

It is interesting to note, by the way, that contact with your cat generally has no influence on the probability of people having antibodies to the parasite. In other words, contact with your cat does not expose you to toxoplasmosis resulting in antibodies being produced inside you as a defence against this disease. Kissing your cat might be more problematic. Read about it by clicking here.

That is why only 20% of people in the United Kingdom have antibodies to toxo. In contrast to that percentage, 80% of French and Germans do have antibodies to toxo because they eat more raw or undercooked meat.

That tells the clear tale that by far the majority of infections in humans of toxoplasmosis comes from eating raw meat. Let's do justice to the domestic cat and not frighten ourselves unnecessarily. If you want to protect yourself against toxoplasmosis then prepare your raw meats properly and don't eat like the French and Germans do!

I should also stress, by the way, that being infected with toxo from cat faeces can only happen during a two-week window in which the parasite is viable after the cat's first consumption of contaminated wildlife. It's a short period of time which further highlights the point that people can live with domestic cats safely and they should not be fearful of contracting toxoplasmosis from the cat. This also applies to pregnant women who simply have to take some precautions.

On that subject, if you are pregnant, you can reduce the risk in several ways:

• by wearing gloves when handling raw meat and by washing your hands afterwards;
• only eat thoroughly cooked meat or meat which has been smoked, cured or frozen for at least three days;
• by washing vegetables and fruit thoroughly before eating them; 
• and by wearing rubber gloves when gardening.