More boys born linked to cat parasite!

[weeziewoozles]

I'd not heard of this before but there's evidence of a link between the toxoplasma parasite and having boys. Any thoughts ladies? We don't have pets but I was brought up in houses with lots of cats!

Pregnant women infected by cat parasite more likely to give birth to boys, say researchers | Science | The Guardian

[SamS_TTCPink]

I've never had a cat until just recently, and now we have 2. I grew up with dogs and have always had dogs (we also have 2 dogs and a rabbit) so cats weren't a contributing factor for me! 😉

[weeziewoozles]

Apparently most people who carry the parasite caught it from not washing vegetables enough or undercooked meat!

[blueeyedguys]

It is an interesting idea, I've had cats most of my life & the ones when I was a kid were outdoor cats, so I've probably been exposed multiple times.

It's a very confusing article though. You can only get toxoplasmosis once & and it sounds like it was women with current infections who were more likely to have boys, but gender is determined long before that point so....I think a lot more study needs to be done, unless the actual study makes a heck of a lot more sense than the article.

[weeziewoozles]

I agree. I've not had a chance yet to read the original paper but another article I read mentioned the women as having a "latent" infection rather than an acute one. Definitely worth digging more!

[emmake]

I agree, i had toxoplasmose.

[covered in blue]

Very interesting! This is the first thing that came up when I typed it into Google
Toxoplasmosis - reducing the risks | Better Health Channel

States that the infection can be long term and survive in cysts throughout the body. Might be something we could get tested for... Will be interested to see the study

[covered in blue]

Really it's so easy to pick up this infection. Remember being a kid and eating strawberries straight from the garden? You don't actually have to have a cat or handle their poo

[purplepoet20]

We moved a lot as kids had lots of cats or dog over the years and most my mom left behind when we moved. All were outdoors 24/7. I hardly played around them except for the dogs my parents had when they were married. I did have a cat (13y) that I would sneak in my room at night and she slept by my stomach all night.

Honestly I think diet is a big thing!

[odd]

My son's baby sitter has a ton of animals including a few cats. But she has all girls