That toxoplasmosis can change a rats' natural behavior in order to facilitate its spread is not surprising. I think that we've just barely scratched the surface where our interaction with biological parasites is concerned. For example, I've read more than a few articles which link our ultra clean environment to the incredible rise in allergic reactions.
Modern Hygiene's Dirty Tricks
While raising barricades against deadly scourges, however, the industrialized world has also shielded people from the microbes and parasites that do no harm. Does it matter?
A growing number of scientists now suspect that stamping out these innocuous organisms is weakening some parts of children's immune systems, allowing other parts to grow unchecked. Such an imbalance, they theorize, triggers a host of illnesses, including asthma, allergies, and even such autoimmune diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and the most severe type of diabetes.
This notion, called the hygiene hypothesis, arose from scientists' inability to explain the rising prevalence of asthma and allergies in many developed nations. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimates that in the United States, for example, the incidence of asthma is now 1.75 times what it was in 1980, and for children less than 4 years old, 2.60 times the earlier incidence.
The whole subject of parasitology fascinates me. Maybe playing in the dirt as a kid wasn't such a bad thing after all.
[dang it, y'all need a blockquote format ability...] |
