[ejstronge]

> One of the rare examples of a mental health condition being virtually completely eliminated is that of General paresis of the insane, a symptom of late-stage syphilis.

I think a better example is the very recent (i.e., in the 2000s) discovery of anti-NMDAR encephalitis which can very closely resemble schizophrenia [1].

In syphilis, there were at least other manifestations of disease that can (and were) known, unlike this totally unappreciated mechanism (which better resembles Barry Marshall and H. pylori).

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551672/

[DaveZale]

sure, let's not forget about the brain. Toxoplasma is another that is transmitted from cats to humans. It's pretty creepy and something that cat lovers don't like to hear about. Extremely common, and it lies dormant in the brain for decades.