Crazy ‘cat lady’ parasite that decapitates sperm, affects 1 in 3, is grossly neglected: Study

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that can infect any nucleated cell in any warm-blooded animal and can cause a wide range of health complications — some fatal, such as miscarriage or inflammation of the brain.

This singled-celled parasite, which can survive up to a lifetime in a human body, is stereotypically associated with crazy “cat ladies” due to its presence in cat feces — cats are its only known definitive hosts — and its association with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal behavior.

‘Toxoplasmosis is just getting left behind.’

Despite its association with “cat ladies,” the parasite is an equal opportunity invader. A study published last year noted, for instance, that the rapidly dividing asexual form of the indiscriminate parasite can “colonize and proliferate” within testes, decapitate