World Cat Day: There will be 5 cases of toxoplasmosis in Yucatán in 2025.

Today , August 8, is World Cat Day , a feline that not only causes adoration or aversion but also transmits diseases , such as toxoplasmosis , a disease that has already been diagnosed in 83 people in Mexico , including five from Yucatan , so far in 2025 .

Cats that hunt or eat raw meat are more likely to carry the parasite toxoplasma , which causes flu-like symptoms in most people , such as fever or headaches and muscle aches, the Mayo Clinic reports.

According to the Epidemiological Bulletin for week 30 of 2025 , which the Ministry of Health (SSA) published on August 4, from January 1 to July 26, 86 cases of toxoplasmosis (37 men and 46 women) were confirmed in 18 of the 32 states of Mexico , three more patients than the 80 registered in the same period of 2024 .

In the country, the leading state in toxoplasmosis is Guerrero , with nine cases (five men and four women) and, at the peninsular level, it is Yucatán , with five patients (two men and three women) , followed by Quintana Roo , with four (three men and one woman), while Campeche remains with zero cases.

In week 30 alone (July 20-26) five cases of toxoplasmosis were confirmed in Mexico (two in Morelos, one in Oaxaca and one in Veracruz), three more than the two detected in week 29 (July 13-19) in Chiapas and Jalisco.

A year ago, in week 30, only one case of toxoplasmosis was detected in the country (in Mexico City) and Yucatán had three accumulated cases (one man and two women).

Toxoplasmosis is a serious disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii , which reproduces sexually only in the intestines of felines (cats, lions, tigers ...), which in turn release infectious forms called oocysts in their feces , which survive for several months if the climate is warm and humid (like that of Yucatan), form spores and are activated in the environment , explains Dr. Dolores Correa Beltrán , Director of Research at the National Pediatric Hospital .

People and other animals become infected by consuming oocysts , which are present in the environment, water, or food contaminated with cat feces, or cysts , which are found in raw or undercooked meat of birds and mammals , the expert warns. A single cyst can host thousands of parasites and survives for the life of its host.

A pregnant woman or female can transmit toxoplasmosis (oocysts) to her embryo or fetus through the placenta, during its passage through the vagina during childbirth , or the newborn ingests them with breast milk , Dr. Correa points out.

If a woman is infected early in pregnancy, toxoplasmosis causes miscarriage , and if it is at the end of pregnancy, the baby may be born healthy but present after-effects, such as seizures, blindness or partial deafness , a few weeks, months or even years later, he adds.

A specialist in congenital toxoplasmosis , Dr. Correa recommends, at the very least, routinely screening pregnant women for antibodies against T. gondii and studying cases that are positive to determine the acute phase and provide prophylactic treatment to reduce the risk of fetal infection and possible sequelae.

Furthermore, the expert contrasts that Toxoplasma gondii rarely makes a person with a healthy immune system sick, but if they have HIV/AIDS or are undergoing treatment with immunosuppressants for cancer or an organ transplant , then it presents serious problems , such as encephalitis, inflammation of the retina, generalized systemic damage, enlargement of the liver or spleen and glandular alterations .

Toxoplasmosis is a challenge for doctors, she adds, because it's diagnosed with antibody or DNA tests (present in the blood), as symptoms aren't always present; it's necessary to identify whether the infection is in the chronic phase (not dangerous) or acute phase (dangerous to the baby) during pregnancy, and treatment is not only aimed at eliminating the parasite but also at regulating the immune system's inflammatory response , which can be harmful if exaggerated.

Regarding this disease, the now deceased Carlos Méndez Benavides , founder of the Oasis San Juan de Dios shelter , which supports people with HIV/AIDS in Conkal , told Diario de Yucatán in 2019 that in the state there are people with after-effects from toxoplasmosis , such as being wheelchair-bound or blind, because, he explained, it crystallizes a part of the brain and causes irreversible and progressive disease. In addition, treatment is started late because the medication is not sold in pharmacies but is controlled by the government.

He explained that, for example, if a patient is diagnosed on a Friday, they have to wait until the government orders the next week for the medicine box and then for the prescription to be filled, but in all that time, the damage increases.

According to health authorities , cats can also transmit cat scratch disease ( Bartonella bacteria) and other diseases spread by flea or tick bites, such as tularemia (rabbit fever), plague (Yersinia) or Lyme disease , as well as intestinal parasites (tapeworm, hookworm, roundworm, Giardia).

To prevent all these diseases, they recommend avoiding pets living with stray cats, monitoring the domestic cat for fleas and ticks, deworming it regularly, and maintaining hygiene after touching the pet or handling its litter boxes, dishes, or toys.