It’s Surprisingly Likely That You Have a Nasty Parasite in Your Eyeball

They say that the eyes are the eyes of the soul.

Scientists say that they may be windows to one of the world's top parasites.

In an essay for The Conversation, researchers described how they were able to detect the Toxoplasma gondii parasites by looking for signs of the sometimes eye-attacking disease.

In recent years, toxoplasmosis has gained a somewhat memetic reputation due to its main carriers being cats and its primary transmission being cat poop. Futurism spoke to one of the authors of a study that found a correlation between childhood cat ownership and psychosis in adulthood, as well as studies conducted over the last few decades that have associated toxoplasmosis with everything from changes in sexual proclivities to higher rates of car accidents.

It turns out that toxoplasmosis is very common. According to the latest research, between 30 and 50 percent of the world's population is infectious, and as Justine Smith and Jo Furtado recount in their essay for The Conversation, that percentage may be as high as 66 percent.

Ocular toxoplasmosis is one of the most common diseases associated with Toxoplasma gondii, and it can be spread via undercooked meat. It can cause floaters, that obscure one's vision and result in vision loss, and as Smith and Furtado wrote, it can scar the back of the eyeball.

In an analysis of Western Australia's Busselton Healthy Ageing Study, which took retinal photographs of more than 5,000 baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, they found that an alarming one in 150 of the eyeball photos showed signs of scarring from ocular toxoplasmosis.

With an estimated rate of prevalence in the global population, toxoplasmosis is the leader of the parasites.

The researchers wrote that Toxoplasma gondii is the most successful parasites in the world.

The last thing we need is a toxoplasmosis in our eyes, so we hope the experimental toxoplasmosis vaccines get to pharmacy and veterinarians sooner rather than later.

The clue could be in our eye, as one in three people are infectious with the Toxoplasma parasites.

There is more on toxoplasmosis.