According to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, a severe form of toxoplasmosis poses a health threat to other marine wildlife and humans. Earlier, it was reported that four sea otters stranded in California died of an infection caused by a rare strain of the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

Even though toxoplasmosis in sea otters is common and can be lethal, this uncommon strain known as COUG appears to be particularly virulent and is capable of quickly killing healthy adult otters. Dr. Karen Shapiro, the University of California, School of Veterinary Medicine, stated that no preliminary studies have reported any such infections in humans. However, this strain can pose a risk to people eating seafood or ingesting contaminated water.

Since it is known that Toxoplasma can infect any warm-blooded animal, it can potentially cause disease in animals and humans that share the same environment or food resources. Toxoplasmosis can cause neurological disorders and miscarriages, even though healthy people with the infection hardly ever show symptoms. Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasite hosted by wild and domestic cats and sheds in their feces.

Also, the four sea otters mentioned in the study were found stranded between 2020 and 2022 with steatitis, a condition that is extremely uncommon in sea otters with toxoplasmosis. This condition causes severe inflammation of the bodys fat. The brain, which is generally one of the principal organs damaged in sea otters with deadly toxoplasmosis, was the only organ that did not have high parasite counts upon microscopic analysis of tissues. 

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1064803 )