Is A Cat Parasite Controlling Your Brain?!?

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Is A Cat Parasite Controlling Your Brain?!?
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My grandfather helped to teach me to drive.He
used to say, Predicting what another driver
might do, is like trying to predict the direction
of a cat parade.
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It turns out that cats may have a lot more to
do with our driving than my grandfather ever
imagined!
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If I told you that an alien bug had invaded the
brains of half the population, hijacked their
neurochemistry and altered the way they acted
behind the wheel, you probably wouldnt believe
me yet something like this may actually be
happening right now!
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Toxoplasma gondii is not an alien. In fact, it is
so common that in some parts of the world as much
as 60 of the population is infected with this
parasite.
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Toxoplasma gondii is transmitted indirectly from
cats to people and it has been shown to affect
human personalities in multiple ways.
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For most that are infected, the symptoms are
usually no worse than a mild dose of flu but now
there is a growing body of evidence that some of
those infected people may have their behavior
permanently changed.
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Holy cat droppings, Batman!
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Research has shown that women who are infected
with the parasite tend to be warm, outgoing and
attentive to others, while infected men tend to
be less intelligent and probably a bit boring.
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But both men and women who are infected are more
prone to feeling guilty and insecure.
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Dr. Jaroslav Flegr of Charles University in
Prague, has studied several aspects of the
Toxoplasma question.
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In one case he looked at the infection rate of
people involved in road accidents.
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Dr. Flegr found that drivers and pedestrians who
had been in accidents were almost three times
more likely to be infected than comparable
individuals who had not been.
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But officer, I have a cat!
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Dr. Flegr has also found other abnormalities in
infected people.
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These included reduced reaction times and shorter
attention spans, both of which might help to
explain the accident statistics.
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Like Plasmodium, which cycles between mosquitoes
and man, Toxoplasma cycles between its rodent and
feline hosts, living out different phases of its
existence in each.
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In cats, it resides in the wall of the small
intestine and passes out of the host in its feces.
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These are then picked up by rats and mice where
they form cysts in brain, liver and muscle tissue.
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Eventually, if the parasites are lucky, their
rodent host is eaten by a cat and the whole cycle
starts again.
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Im a cat lover, what should I do?
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Keep your cat on a diet of safe cat food and, if
possible, not left to feed off rats or mice.
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Dr. Flegr says This isnt about trying to freak
cat owners out. Simply having a cat as a pet
doesnt mean youre going to get infected.
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Of course, maybe some other parasite is making
him say that.