Overview
- This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access
- Offers a detailed 800 year history of cats as pets
- Lists strategies to minimize the chances of becoming infected with Toxoplasma gondii
- Written by an established expert in the field
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This open access book analyzes the evidence linking Toxoplasma gondii to the increasing incidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the United States. Initially establishing that infectious agents are regularly transmitted from animals to humans, lead to human disease, and that infectious agents can cause psychosis, it then examines the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii in detail. Infecting 40 million Americans, Toxoplasma gondii is known to cause congenital infections, eye disease, and encephalitis for individuals who are immunosuppressed. It has also been shown to change the behavior of nonhuman mammals, as well as to alter some personality traits in humans. After discussing the clinical evidence linking Toxoplasma gondii to human psychosis, the book elucidates the epidemiological evidence further supporting this linkage; including the proportional increase in incidence of human psychosis as cats transitioned to domestication over 800 years. Finally, the book assessesthe magnitude of the problem and suggests solutions.
Parasites, Pussycats and Psychosis: The Unknown Dangers of Human Toxoplasmosis provides a comprehensive review of the evidence linking human psychosis in the United States to infections of Toxoplasma gondii. It will be of interest to infectious disease specialists, general practitioners, scientists, historians, and cat-lovers.
Parasites, Pussycats and Psychosis: The Unknown Dangers of Human Toxoplasmosis provides a comprehensive review of the evidence linking human psychosis in the United States to infections of Toxoplasma gondii. It will be of interest to infectious disease specialists, general practitioners, scientists, historians, and cat-lovers.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
E. Fuller Torrey
Associate Director, The Stanley Medical Research Institute
Founder and Board Member Emeritus, Treatment Advocacy Center
Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Bethesda, MD 20816
USA
Associate Director, The Stanley Medical Research Institute
Founder and Board Member Emeritus, Treatment Advocacy Center
Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Bethesda, MD 20816
USA
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Parasites, Pussycats and Psychosis
Book Subtitle: The Unknown Dangers of Human Toxoplasmosis
Authors: E. Fuller Torrey
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86811-6
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)
Copyright Information: E. Fuller Torrey 2022
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-86810-9Published: 30 November 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-86811-6Published: 29 November 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 140
Number of Illustrations: 7 illustrations in colour