Crazy cat ladies are less likely to land on their feet (when thrown from a vehicle)

Driving us mad: the association of Toxoplasma gondii with suicide attempts and traffic accidents
"Recently, latent infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) has been suggested to be a biological risk factor for both traffic accidents and suicide attempts... We found a significant association for antibodies against T. gondii with traffic accidents and suicide attempts."

"Recent research indicates a link between the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which sexually reproduces exclusively in cats, and numerous psychiatric conditions, including obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia. The compulsive hoarding of cats, a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), has long been associated with "crazy cat ladies". Mass media has drawn on this stereotype to coin the term crazy cat lady syndrome to refer to the association between T. gondii and psychiatric conditions."

 

"Infection with Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite carried by cats, has been linked to a human psychiatric condition called intermittent explosive disorder. People who have IED typically experience disproportionate outbursts of aggression, like road rage" . . .

 

Toxoplasma gondii infection and excessive ethanol consumption...
"Test results demonstrated a strong correlation between latent T. gondii infection and engaging in risky behaviors leading to death."

Significance of chronic toxoplasmosis in epidemiology of road traffic accidents...
"It appears that similarities in the behavioral changes of infected men and women driving on the roads determines aggressive driving, the neglect of driving rules, and ignoring pedestrians."

Toxoplasma gondii infection in interstate truck drivers...
"Results suggest that interstate truck drivers may have an increased risk for T. gondii infection, and that T. gondii exposure may be impacting neurological functions in truck drivers.

Toxoplasmosis is a food-borne and a water-borne disease... Infection with Toxoplasma gondii can be acquired via the ingestion of undercooked or raw meat containing tissue cysts, or via ingestion of water contaminated with oocysts. Professional long distance truck driving may have epidemiological importance for food-borne infections since drivers eat out of home and in places where hygiene and cooking practices are uncertain... The frequent traveling to different regions could therefore represent a risk factor for infection with T. gondii in interstate truck drivers.

Remarkably, seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in the subset of drivers with traffic accidents was significantly higher in drivers with reflex impairment than in those without this impairment. Results thus suggest that infection with T. gondii might lead to reflexes impairment that in turn may contribute for traffic accidents."

Mechanics of the Toxoplasma gondii oocyst wall...
"In the ubiquitous protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the oocyst stage possesses a bilayered wall that protects the dormant but potentially infective parasites from harsh environmental conditions until their ingestion by the host. None of the common disinfectants are effective in killing the parasite because the oocyst wall acts as a primary barrier to physical and chemical attacks.

T. gondii oocysts are highly resistant to environmental influences; this resistance to various physical and chemical stressors, including disinfectants such as UV, ozone, and chlorine-based products, is attributed to the oocyst wall. In contrast, oocysts are rapidly inactivated following exposure to temperatures above 60°C (140°F) for a few minutes..."

Physical Inactivation of Toxoplasma gondii Oocysts in Water
"Human toxoplasmosis acquired through the consumption of infective Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in contaminated drinking water is an increasing public health risk worldwide. Currently, there are no specific recommendations or approved methods to inactivate T. gondii in public water supplies, and limited research indicates that oocysts may be difficult to destroy in water by conventional disinfection methods. Although T. gondii oocysts can be inactivated by exposure to boiling, freezing, and gamma irradiation...

T. gondii is gaining recognition as a waterborne pathogen, but how to effectively eliminate this parasite from drinking water remains undetermined. The physical methods (pulsed and continuous UV radiation) tested in this study were more effective at oocyst inactivation than chemical treatments previously tested...

The infective dose of T. gondii oocysts for humans is not known, but animal infectivity studies indicate that an infectious dose could be as low as a single oocyst."

Surface Properties of Toxoplasma gondii Oocysts and Surrogate Microspheres...
"The zoonotic protozoal parasite Toxoplasma gondii is emerging as an important waterborne pathogen in both human and wildlife populations. Contaminated water supplies have been implicated as the sources of infection for human toxoplasmosis outbreaks in several countries, including Panama, Brazil, India, French Guyana, and Canada... Along the California coast, 38% of live sea otters sampled between 1998 and 2004 had been exposed to T. gondii, and although water-related toxoplasmosis in humans has not been reported in this state, high rates of sea otter infection suggest that T. gondii contamination may pose a significant risk to animal and human health.

Domestic and wild felids are the only known definitive hosts of T. gondii, and one cat can shed millions of oocysts in its feces when infected. Toxoplasma gondii oocysts are highly resistant to the environment. Oocysts can remain viable in water sources for several years and are reportedly resistant to commonly employed water treatment processes...

Toxoplasma gondii oocysts remain viable for at least 6 months in seawater, so persistence of infective oocysts as they accumulate in marine sediments is possible...

Concentration of pathogens at the freshwater and marine water mixing zones may pose a significantly higher risk of infection to humans through recreational uses or ingestion of shellfish that are farmed and harvested at these locations...

The hydrophilic nature and negative charge of T. gondii oocysts in freshwater enable this zoonotic pathogen to become easily entrained in waterways and bypass commonly used treatment processes. Thus, oocysts that survive and remain viable in the environment serve as a source of infection to people and animals. The observed loss of surface charge in estuarine habitats could lead to oocyst aggregation and subsequent accumulation of this parasite in areas where freshwater and marine waters mix, leading to distinct high-risk zones of infection to susceptible hosts through accidental ingestion of contaminated water or accumulation in food sources such as shellfish."

Toxoplasma gondii Oocyst Source of Infection...
"Our finding that 43% of toxoplasmosis infections were associated with direct or indirect exposure to an occyst-contaminated environment indicates that cyst-containing meat was the major (57%) source of infection in the study population. Although this value is likely to vary by population, it is consistent with findings from a multicenter case–control study that reported, on the basis of calculation of population-attributable fractions, that 30%–63% of acute infections could be attributed to eating meat...

A high level of oocyst contamination of soil and especially water (because of runoff) probably results from high (33%) prevalence of infection in cats and high annual precipitation...

Although less recognized than contact with cat feces (while handling cat litter), eating raw shellfish, which can accumulate oocysts, and drinking contaminated water are major risk factors for T. gondii infection."

Toxoplasma gondii oocyst shedding in stray and pet cats...
"While human infection can occur via ingestion of tissue cysts from infected meat, most human infection comes from oocysts...

Chronic infection occurs in approximately 22.5% of the US population...

Individuals with occupations requiring contact with soil in environments frequented by cats are significantly more likely to contract toxoplasmosis. However, the more significant risk factor is contact with cats and cat litter. Owning just one cat increases the risk of toxoplasmosis, but having three or more kittens makes an individual over 70 times more likely to become infected with T. gondii."

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii...
"Infection with Toxoplasma gondii is common in the human population. The percentage of population infected is estimated to vary from 30% to 60%, depending on the region of the world."

Millions of cat ladies on the prowl?​

 

It could be that everone who has toxoplasmosis owns a cat (in this country at least), since the percentage of households with cats is a little higher than the percentage of persons estimated to have the disease (which is around 23% in an article above). They say that the USA has the highest cat population of any country (74 million, which is more than for dogs), with 30% of the households owning cats (at an average of two cats per household). Although, the percentage of the population owning cats in some other countries is higher (and so is the percentage of people with toxoplasmosis). In Romania, for example, 45% of the households own cats, and 44% of the women have the disease. It may be closer to 30% in the USA, since more articles have said something like "It is the most prevalent infection in humans (estimated to be 30–50% of the world population)". The same article says the prevalence of latent toxoplamosis is 11% in women of childbearing age (from the USA), so I guess if that's approximately half of the total percentage, then it's more like 22.5% after all. Owning one cat is said to be less risky than two or more, so the percentage of infections probably reflects that more people live in those households (including newborns) too.

Ultimately, they say that "in the United States, one million new infections occur each year" (which is about 26% of how many Americans are born annually, as well as the number of truck drivers in the country—by some counts—or the percentage of trucks in congested traffic)... So, as a rule of thumb, I guess the number of crazy cat ladies on the road would be analagous to how many trucks are in the area (more or less).

• U.S. Pet Ownership Statistics...
• A Guide to Worldwide Pet Ownership...
• Correlation of Latent Toxoplasmosis with Disease in 88 Countries...
• Births and Natality...
• How Many Truck Drivers Are There?
• Every fourth vehicle is a truck...

 

The CDC also lists guidelines to reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis, and as far as cats go, they say...

• Feed cats only canned or dried commercial food or well-cooked table food, not raw or undercooked meats.

• Ensure that the cat litter box is changed daily. The Toxoplasma parasite does not become infectious until 1 to 5 days after it is shed in a cat’s feces.

• Wear gloves when gardening and during any contact with soil or sand because it might be contaminated with cat feces that contain Toxoplasma. Wash hands with soap and water after gardening or contact with soil or sand.

• Teach children the importance of washing hands to prevent infection.

• Keep outdoor sandboxes covered.

• If you are pregnant or immunocompromised:

1. Avoid changing cat litter if possible. If no one else can perform the task, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands with soap and water afterwards.

2. Keep cats indoors to prevent them from hunting and reduce the chances they will become infected with Toxoplasma.

3. Do not adopt or handle stray cats, especially kittens. Do not get a new cat while you are pregnant or immunocompromised.