Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Eat only thoroughly cooked meat and wash your hands vigor-
ously if you handle raw meat or vegetables.
•
Consume only pasteurized dairy products.
•
Have yourself tested for antibodies to
Toxoplasma gondii.
If you
are already positive, there is little risk that you will become ill
unless your immune system is compromised.
•
Wash your hands after coming in contact with your cat.
For a pregnant woman to become infected through her cat, an unlike-
ly series of events must occur.The cat must first have recent exposure to
Toxoplasma. Then, the cat's feces must sit, unscooped, for 3 to 10 days,
while the oocytes become active. Then the woman must actually touch
the feces, and then touch her mouth or nose before washing her hands. In
actuality, it would be extremely rare for a pregnant woman to be directly
infected by a cat.
If you have an indoor cat who never eats raw meat or goes outside
to hunt and eat birds and rodents, you are essentially at no risk. In fact,
30 to 50 percent of women in the world have been previously exposed
to Toxoplasma.These women develop immunity, and in these situations
there is no risk to a later pregnancy.
Treatment for Toxoplasmosis
There are medications that are effective for treating cats and healthy
humans with Toxoplasmosis. Unfortunately, even if an infected pregnant
woman receives treatment in her first trimester, birth defects cannot be
prevented.
We have reached the 21st century, but many physicians are ill-
informed about pregnant women and cats. Any woman considering
pregnancy should know
about Toxoplasmosis. But
to hear some doctors talk,
if you want to get preg-
nant, you should get rid of
your cat, and this is ridicu-
lous. Millions if not billions
of women have lived with
cats over time and have
somehow managed to pro-
duce healthy children.
INFECTED MEAT
It is estimated that in some parts
of the world, 10 percent of the
lamb and 25 percent of the pork
are infected with Toxoplasma cysts.
Cows and goats can also be infect-
ed, so consuming unpasteurized
dairy products is not recommended.
