Researchers at the University of British Columbia warned scientists Thursday they had found evidence that an infectious form of a cat parasite had spread through Arctic waters and has begun to appear in Beluga whales.

Michael Grigg and Stephen Raverty attribute the spread of the parasite to melting ice in the Arctic, according to a UBC  news release. 

“Ice is a major eco-barrier for pathogens,” Michael Grigg, a molecular parasitologist said in the release. “What we’re seeing with the big thaw is the liberation of pathogens gaining access to vulnerable new hosts and wreaking havoc.”

The cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii is known to cause Toxoplasmosis, or kitty litter disease, and can be fatal to people and animals, according to the release.

Grigg and Raverty have also identified a new strain of the parasite that appears to be responsible for the death of hundreds of grey seals in 2012, as well as walruses, and polar and grizzly bears as far south as B.C.

The researchers presented their findings at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Please follow and like us: