A parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is likely affecting sea otters from runoff streams from inland areas where cats are pooping, further threatening other animals susceptible to infection. Toxic parasite found in cat poop may be killing California sea otters:
A toxic parasite "very different from anything" experts have seen before has killed four California sea otters and they're concerned it could spread to other marine life and even humans.
, hoping to alert others to the parasite. They hope other marine mammal responders and scientists will be careful when handling sea otters to avoid spreading the parasite. This version – Toxoplasma gondii COUG – was named for the two mountain lions in British Columbia where it was first documented in 1995 during an investigation into a waterborne outbreak of toxoplasmosis in humans.When Miller looked at it under a microscope, the number of parasites was “amazingly high," she said. It hits body fat really hard and causes obvious lesions that can be seen with the naked eye.
The sea otter deaths underscore the need to study the parasite and how it spreads among animals, Miller said. “Anything that we’re finding in marine mammals that’s different and new, we want to let people know about so they can take precautions.” That leaves researchers concerned about a potential connection to contaminated stormwater runoff after heavy rains.Surface water streams and runoff can help carry the egg form of the parasite from inland areas where cats are pooping and shedding the parasite, into other water bodies such as streams, and freshwater runoff into the ocean, she said.
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