Can i get toxoplasmosis from a cat scratch

Relatively often, neurological symptoms of the infection develop, such as severe headache, acute confusion, seizures, and focal neurological deficits [ 25 , 26 ].

A recent metaanalytic study has showed that no effective method of treatment of cat-scratch disease is currently available Prutsky Toxoplasmosis was reported to be associated with specific behavioral changes in infected animals, and behavioral and personality changes, including serious mental health disorders, in humans. It was, however, already suggested that Toxoplasma infection could be just an indicator of probable contact with another pathogen transmitted to human from domestic cats [ 12 ].

This suggestion was based on the fact that in some studies on association between toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia, contact with a cat, rather than Toxoplasma seropositivity, was associated with increased risk of schizophrenia [ 27 , 28 ].

It must be admitted, however, the fact that genes for key enzymes involved in the synthesis of dopamine exist in the genome of Toxoplasma [ 29 ], their expression in the brain of the infected host [ 30 ], as well as the presence of morphological changes decreases in gray matter density bilaterally in the caudate, median cingulate, thalamus, occipital cortex, and in the left cerebellar hemispheres exclusively in brain of Toxoplasma -infected schizophrenia patients [ 31 ], strongly suggests that Toxoplasma plays a principal role in the etiology of certain forms of schizophrenia [ 32 ].

This may be true for schizophrenia in which the increased concentration of dopamine is known to be responsible for characteristic positive symptoms of disease hallucinations and delusions [ 33 ]. Results of the present study indicate that the infection of Bartonella , rather than Toxoplasma is a more likely cause of unipolar depression and subclinical depression in women who were bitten or scratched by a cat.

Cross-sectional study is the most powerful and economic technique for demonstrating the existence of associations between two factors. It should be reminded, however, that no cross-sectional study could solve the question what is the cause and what the effect. It is theoretically possible that either depressed people are more often scratched not bitten by a cat or that cat-scratching results in predisposed subjects in depression.

Our population does not represent a typical sample of Czech and Slovak populations. Therefore, the data on prevalence of toxoplasmosis, incidences of animals-related injuries or prevalence of unipolar depression cannot be generalized to normal Czech and Slovak population.

However, there are no reasons for expecting that, for example, the cat-related injuries influence the risk of unipolar depression only in this specific sample. It is certain that in some cases this information was wrong or obsolete. Latent toxoplasmosis is a lifelong disease; therefore, Toxoplasma -infected status does not change over time. However, some subjects that reported to be seronegative in the questionnaire acquired the infection during the time that passed from their serological examination.

Also, the results of the study performed on the population of 3, Czech male soldiers show that positivity to negativity seroconversions occur frequently in men after the age of 36 [ 19 ]. It should be also reminded that the existence of subjects with false negative results of serological tests cannot cause a false positive result in any study; however, it might cause its false negative result.

The absence of this effect persuaded us that cat scratching, rather than toxoplasmosis, could be responsible for the increased depression of animal-injured subjects. However, the absence of a statistical effect of toxoplasmosis could be also caused by the presence of false negatives in the population under study. Unfortunately, available tests for Bartonella infection have rather low sensitivity and specificity and are only very rarely performed [ 36 ].

Our study should be performed in a country where medical records of the whole population are available for medical research. The results accumulated during past 20 years suggest that many behavioral and neurological changes, and probably also many mental health disorders, could be caused by infection with pathogens from a cat. If pathogens are truly involved it will be critical to know which pathogen is responsible for which disorder.

No effective method of treatment of latent toxoplasmosis is currently available and the same is true also for bartonellosis [ 22 ]. It would, however, be useful to know what epidemiological measures could be effective and whether we have to search primarily for new antibiotics or new antiparasitic drugs. Describing the relationship between cat bites and human depression using data from an electronic health record. PLoS One. Toxoplasmosis snapshots: Global status of Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence and implications for pregnancy and congenital toxoplasmosis.

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Clin Microbiol Infec. Toxoplasmosis can be a sexually transmitted infection with serious clinical consequences. Not all routes of infection are created equal. Med Hypotheses. The expanded spectrum of bartonellosis in children. Infect Dis Clin North Am.

Treatment outcomes of human bartonellosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Infect Dis. Angelakis E, Raoult D. Pathogenicity and treatment of Bartonella infections. Int J Antimicrob Agents. Cat-scratch disease in the United-States - an analysis of 3 national databases. Am J Public Health. Case - Pathogenesis of cat scratch disease. N Engl J Med. Neurological symptoms with Bartonella henselae infection: Report on 2 pediatric cases. Arch Pediatr. In most cases skin signs will go away within three weeks, and lymph node swelling will go away within four months.

Medications for pain, fever or headache. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be given. Do not give your child or teen aspirin because its use in children has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition. Medical procedure. If a lymph node becomes large, painful, or badly infected, a procedure may be done to drain the node or remove it. If your child gets bitten or scratched by a cat, make sure to wash the area thoroughly with soap and water.

Contact your doctor for all cat bites as these are very high risk for a different type of infection. If you see any signs or symptoms of cat scratch disease after contact with a cat, always let your doctor know.

If your child is diagnosed with cat scratch disease, let your doctor know if symptoms get worse or don't improve. Tell children not to play roughly with any cats or kittens and to stop petting them if they see "airplane ears"—flattened ears on a cat are often a warning sign that they want to be left alone. Unless your child has another illness that weakens his or her immune defense system such as cancer, HIV, or an organ transplant , these precautions should be enough to keep your child safe.

During the exam, the doctor will look for signs of a cat scratch or bite and swollen lymph nodes. Most cases of cat scratch disease do not need any special treatment.

Doctors sometimes use antibiotics to treat a severe case. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, give them to your child on schedule and for as many days as prescribed. Kids with cat scratch disease don't need to be kept apart from other family members. Let your child rest as needed. If your child feels like playing, encourage quiet play while being careful to avoid injuring swollen lymph nodes. To ease soreness, you can give your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Cat scratch disease is not contagious from person to person. The bacteria spread by the scratch or bite of an infected animal, most often a kitten.

They also can spread if the animal's saliva spit comes in contact with a person's eye or through broken skin. Sometimes more than one case happens in the same family, usually through contact with the same infected animal.

Having one episode of cat scratch disease usually makes people immune for the rest of their lives. If you're concerned about cat scratch disease, you do not need to get rid of the family pet. The illness is not common and usually is mild, and a few steps can help protect your kids from it:. If you think that someone caught cat scratch disease from your family pet, don't worry that your cat will have to be euthanized put to sleep.

Talk with your veterinarian about how to handle the problem.