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Cleaning a cat's litter box can be annoying. And it might actually pose a health risk. The reason is a microscopic organism called Toxoplasma gondii. This protozoan has been linked in humans to congenital birth defects and nervous system damage. There’s evidence that it’s also tied to an increased risk for psychiatric illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions.
打掃貓咪的便池很煩人。同時也可能危害健康。原因在于一種叫做剛地弓形蟲的微生物。這種原生動物已證明與人類先天性出生缺陷和神經系統損害有關。有證據顯示它也會增加精神疾病，風濕性關節炎以及其他疾病的患病風險。
It reproduces in cats, which shed parasites in their feces. These oocysts can then be picked up by birds, mice or people.
它在貓體內繁殖，蟲卵隨貓的糞便排出體外。然后這些卵囊會進入鳥類，老鼠或者人類體內。
Cats produce 1.2 million metric tons of waste outdoors each year in the U.S. And about 1 percent of cats are likely shedding Toxo at any given time.
在美國，每年貓能在戶外產生120萬噸的糞便。在特定時間，有大約1%的貓會排出弓形蟲。
Backyard surveys have found up to 400 Toxo oocysts per square foot. They can survive for more than a year and a half in the soil. And just one—which can be accidentally inhaled or ingested—could start an infection. These stats are in a report in the journal Trends in Parasitology.
對后院的調查發現，每平方英尺的土地上大約有400個弓形蟲卵囊。它們能在土壤中存活一年半的時間。不經意間的吸入或者攝食，哪怕只是一個，都會引起感染。這些數據發表在寄生蟲學趨勢雜志的一份報告里。
Indoor-only cats are less likely to pick up the parasite. Nevertheless, best to be cautious when around the garden box, sandbox and litter box.
只在室內活動的貓不太可能感染寄生蟲。不過，當你在路過花池，沙池和動物便池的時候還是小心點。
–Katherine Harmon
