A recent study has grossly exaggerated the health threat to humans from toxoplasmosis parasites that may be present in very small amounts in cat feces.
The study produced no hard evidence of cat-to-human transmission of toxoplasmosis. Researchers acknowledge that there has been a decrease in the incidence of human toxoplasmosis among adults in the United States over the past two decades. They also acknowledge that reasonable and simple precautions like washing hands after gardening can reduce the risk of contracting the parasite.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that cats are rarely the source of toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, and that people are unlikely to get sick from touching or owning a cat.
Read the press release.