The cat parasite
Why should pregnant women avoid cats?
In this video, Maëlwenn Hamon, a doctoral student at the Institut Pasteur working in Pauline Speder's team, explains how the Toxoplasma gondii parasite interacts with its hosts... and sometimes manipulates their behavior!
In mice, it completely erases their fear of cats.
In humans, the infection often goes unnoticed... except during pregnancy, when it can have serious consequences for the fetus. Maëlwenn and her colleagues are seeking to understand how this parasite affects the brain, particularly during development, and what happens when it reactivates.
This research is essential to better understand the interactions between parasites, the brain, and behavior.
(video in french, english subtitles available translated by AI)