Latest news with #MicheleGaragnani
Economic Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Economic Times
Parasite responsible for Australians losing job, road accidents; here's why toxoplasmosis is creating havoc
Synopsis A common parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, affects many in Australia. It comes from cat waste and uncooked meat. Research links it to slower reactions and risky actions. Studies show infected people face more job losses and mental issues. A new online test can detect the infection. Experts advise caution with cat litter and raw meat to stay safe. TIL Creatives Studies have linked the Toxoplasma gondii to reduced self-control, increased impatience, and greater appetite for risky behaviour such as drinking, drug use. A parasite carried in cat faeces and raw meat is silently affecting millions of Australians, with new research linking it to slower reaction times, higher risk-taking, and even job losses. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii causes toxoplasmosis, one of the most widespread infections in the world. A study published in April 2025 in Science Direct, 'An inexpensive method to measure latent toxoplasmosis and its behavioral consequences,' estimates that more than two billion people globally carry it. According to a article, around 20 per cent of Australians are affected by it, that are causing mental health issues and reaction is often contracted by handling cat litter after cats eat infected mice or by consuming contaminated raw meat. Most people never realise they are infected, as symptoms are rare in healthy from the University of Melbourne, Lancaster University, and Zeppelin University found that toxoplasmosis can subtly alter human behaviour and decision-making. Dr Michele Garagnani, senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, told that infected people are about two per cent more likely to be involved in a car crash. Studies have also linked the parasite to reduced self-control, increased impatience, and greater appetite for risky behaviour such as drinking, drug use, and impulsive business ventures.A larger survey of 1,010 people found that those with the infection were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, have mental health problems, and experience unemployment. On average, infected individuals earned less than those who were not infected. Previous studies have shown that the parasite can affect dopamine levels in the brain, influencing mood, risk-taking, and reaction time. In one trial, people with toxoplasmosis had slightly slower responses to visual cues, which could explain the increased crash economic and social effects are significant. Research published in Acta Psychologica found infected individuals in the UK earned about £2,500 less per year and had an 11 per cent lower employment now, toxoplasmosis has been diagnosed through blood or saliva tests. But Dr Garagnani's team has developed an online reaction-time tool that can identify likely infection with 97 per cent accuracy, as per the test involves a two-minute task where participants respond to colour changes on a screen. Researchers measure both speed and ability to maintain focus, then compare results to known infection healthy people usually show no apparent symptoms, toxoplasmosis can be dangerous for those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women, as it may cause serious health problems for unborn World Health Organisation still lists it as a 'neglected parasitic infection,' but has recently shifted focus to other global health threats like recommend wearing gloves or a mask when handling cat litter, washing hands thoroughly, and avoiding undercooked or raw the infection's effects are small on an individual level, researchers warn that its widespread presence means it could have a large-scale impact on society, from road safety to workplace productivity.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Health
- News.com.au
How common infection carried through cat faeces can affect daily human behaviour
A very common parasite found in billions of people around the world – including 20 per cent of Australians – can affect mental health and reaction times, even leading to more car crashes. Toxoplasmosis is often carried in faeces of cats after eating a mouse, as well as in contaminated raw meat, and can be easily passed onto humans. Once in the body, the parasite can then affect a person's daily behaviour. It does not cause serious health risks to the average healthy person, but previous research has shown the infection is creating 'havoc' on people's dopamine levels, leading to a reduction in self-control, making more impulsive and high-risk decisions, and being impatient. Dr Michele Garagnani from the University of Melbourne told those infected are two per cent more likely to be involved in a car crash. 'Our study suggests... people take more risks, are less patient, have less self-control and are more likely to start entrepreneurial decisions, like companies and start ups that turn out to be risky or not founded so they fail (or) are actually not successful,' the senior lecturer said. 'All the studies have shown that people with toxoplasmosis are more likely to feel anxious, to be depressed and have more mental health issues.' There is no cure for toxoplasmosis and was once only detectable by blood or saliva swabs. However, Dr Garagnani and his team – consisting of Carlos Alós-Ferrer from Lancaster University in the UK and Anja Achtziger from Zeppelin University in Germany – have created a new online test for people around the world to check if they are infected. The 'simple' test involves assessing a person's reaction time. A subject is placed in front of a computer or similar device where they are asked to focus on the screen for two minutes. In that time the person must respond, for example, to the changing of colours, by pushing a button as quickly as possible. 'What we measure is both how quickly they react and how much they can sustain attention to a task,' Dr Garagnani told To confirm the validity of the new testing tool, the research team carried out head-to-head clinical trials and compared it to blood tests. The study found just under 80 participants had their reaction times analysed with RhD-negative blood types, which can slow a person's response by less than one second. The online test has a 97 per cent accuracy rate, according to research published in April. A larger study was then completed with 1,010 subjects who were then asked questions about their life, as well as employment and income. The results showed 10 per cent of people 'deemed' with toxoplasmosis are more likely to be unemployed and on average earned less than those who were not infected. 'We also found that those who were deemed infected were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and experience mental health problems,' Dr Garagnani said. The test is not aimed to replace medical testing of toxoplasmosis but is hoped to allow more people to check whether they have the infection on a larger and cheaper scale. The senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne stressed people infected with toxoplasmosis cannot feel it in their daily lives and the effects are 'very small'. Dr Garagnani added the infection is a concern for individuals with weak immune systems, those with HIV and pregnant women as it can lead to serious health problems for the baby. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had previously labelled it as 'one of the most neglected parasitic infections'. But WHO recently provided an update to be 'less cautious' of it due to the rise in tuberculosis, 'the world's top infectious killer', which claims 4,500 lives and sees 30,000 people fall ill each day. 'They are still considering it as a neglected parasitic infection. It's insidious and growing instead of going down in the world population, which is alarming,' Dr Garagnani said. 'But it's an infection which has no medical symptoms during the lifelong part of the patient so it's less prevalent and less concerning than other sicknesses.'
ABC News
5 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Toxoplasmosis test could lead to learning how parasite affects behaviour
An international research team has developed an online test that they say is capable of detecting toxoplasmosis infection, commonly spread to humans by cats. While the test is not designed to replace a medical diagnosis, the researchers hope it will open the door for more large-scale studies into the effects of toxoplasmosis on the population. An estimated 30 to 50 per cent of the world's population is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a single-celled parasite capable of infecting humans and any warm-blooded animal or bird. In Australia, the main host of the parasite is cats, which typically become infected by eating small mammals such as rodents or birds. The disease associated with the parasite, toxoplasmosis, can cause a range of health problems, from minor flu-like symptoms to, in rare cases, inflammation of the brain, seizures, and blindness. Toxoplasmosis can alter behaviour in animals, and some research suggests it may also affect how humans think. A new international study published in Acta Psychologica may provide a new way to study these effects. According to neuroeconomist Michele Garagnani, from The University of Melbourne and study co-author, toxoplasmosis affects our neurochemistry by influencing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline, which regulate behaviour. Unlike many parasitic infections, being infected with T. gondi has been linked to a range of mental health conditions and behavioural changes, including bipolar disorder, delayed reaction times, and schizophrenia. The infection has been found to make mice impatient and willing to take risks. In some cases, mice actively seek out cats, which makes them more likely to be eaten. While it is still unknown how the parasite causes these changes, it raises important questions about the broader impacts of toxoplasmosis on human health and behaviour. "When we estimate that toxoplasmosis affects 2.4 billion people worldwide, that's a very large portion of the global economy who are having their decisions at least partially influenced by a parasite," Dr Garagnani said. Much about how toxoplasmosis affects human behaviour remains unknown. One major obstacle is that medical testing for the parasite is expensive and invasive, requiring blood or saliva samples. "Our research was trying to develop a method that is very cheap and easy to test on a large number of people," Dr Garagnani said. In the study, researchers ran a laboratory experiment with 79 participants with RhD-negative blood lacking the RhD protein on the surface of red blood cells, asking them to complete a reaction-time task. People with the RhD-negative blood type, about 20 per cent of Australians, have slower response times when infected by the parasite. While it is unclear why RhD-negative individuals have slower reaction times when infected, some theorise that the RhD antigen has protective capabilities against the parasite, and in its absence, patients experience elevated symptoms. Despite the small sample size, the team found that their method matched medical testing with 97 per cent accuracy. The delay in reaction time is small, between 0.16 and 0.25 seconds, but Dr Garagnani said even marginal effects could have large-scale consequences. "On a societal scale, having toxoplasmosis infection with that particular blood type leads to an increase in traffic accidents, for example," he said. The team then replicated the experiment using an online survey with more than 1,000 participants in the UK who had RhD-negative blood. Based on the results, the research team deemed 18 per cent of the respondents to be infected with toxoplasmosis. The team then asked participants a series of questions about their risk preferences, employment status, income, and completed other cognitive tests. "Those who were deemed infected were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and experience mental health problems such as anxiety, stress and depression compared to the non-infected participants," Dr Garagnani said. While the new online test does not replace a medical diagnosis, Dr Garagnani hoped it would allow researchers to measure the impact of toxoplasmosis on humans. "Our new method is an opportunity for the world as a whole to understand how many of us are infected, how it affects our behaviour, and what steps we can take to manage its impact," he said. Veterinary parasitologist Tharaka Liyanage said the study posed an innovative approach to exploring the potential behavioural consequences of an infection. "I find it fascinating that a microscopic cat parasite could influence not only human health, but also cognition, behaviour, and even economic decision-making," he said. "This tool may be particularly useful in low-resource settings or as a preliminary step in large-scale epidemiological studies." But, Dr Liyanage cautioned that a lot of work needed to be done before the tool made its way into a clinical setting. "I believe further validation, particularly in consultation with medical and clinical experts, would be necessary before this method can be considered for broader application." The test also requires people to have RhD-negative blood, which only 15 to 20 per cent of people have. Rima McLeod, an internationally recognised toxoplasmosis expert from the University of Chicago, echoed this sentiment and called for further research. "Proper, accurate serologic controls documenting toxoplasma infection or its absence for each participant would be needed to implicate toxoplasma in the associations they propose," Professor McLeod said. Dr Garagnani hoped to conduct further tests on the diagnostic tool. "We are hoping that with future study we verify further that the method works, and whether it could be used as a public policy type of intervention where we could firstly test for toxoplasmosis using our method and then try to understand how to effectively target the population where the prevalence is more diffuse."
