Toxoplasmosis: Do You Know How To Prevent It?
What is preferable: eat raw or cooked meat to prevent toxoplasmosis from appearing? Can we prevent it in any way? This disease is caused by a parasite found in animals, especially cats.
Surely, you will be surprised to think that most people have suffered from it, and have not even known! It is a very common disease that is usually asymptomatic and can cause a mild infection.
Nor should toxoplasmosis be taken lightly, since in pregnant women it can cause serious complications, such as being fatal to the fetuses or leaving serious sequelae in them if the mother contracts this disease. However, if the mother has already had the disease, the fetus cannot be infected. And if the mother contracts it in the last weeks of pregnancy, the consequences will not be so serious.
Toxoplasmosis is also dangerous for the elderly or for those with weakened immune systems. So how do we know if we have had it?
How can you get toxoplasmosis?
- Contact with cat or other feline feces. These animals can easily become infected when they eat infected birds, rodents, or small animals. Thus, the parasite passes into their feces and we can get it inadvertently by being in contact with them.
- Eating and handling raw or undercooked meat. Also, use tables or kitchen utensils that have been in contact with this type of meat.
- Badly washed vegetables or fruits.
- Ingest contaminated water.
- Receive an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion.
Symptoms
In people with normal immune systems, toxoplasmosis does not usually cause many symptoms. In fact, it often goes unnoticed, as it can be similar to the flu.
However, according to a study in pregnant women, if the parasite passes to the fetus through the placenta, it can cause serious malformations. The most common problems are usually at the ocular level.
Furthermore, toxoplasmosis is also dangerous in immunocompromised people, as it can lead to encephalitis.
What can be done to avoid this disease?
Pregnant women must take special measures with the food they eat. In this sense, they have to make sure to consume perfectly cooked meat and to wash vegetables with great care before eating them, as well as fruits.
Unwashed vegetables and fruits or washing with contaminated water could increase the risk of infection by this protozoan.
You also have to be careful with kitchen utensils and take special care that they are not contaminated by raw meat. It is convenient to use a type of tools (pots, cutlery, tables …) different from the rest of the family. In this case, all precautions are little if it is the health of a family member.
More precautions …
With regard to water, it is recommended to consume filtered water whenever possible to ensure that no contamination occurs. On the other hand, if dairy is usually consumed , yes or yes they must be pasteurized.
Of course, you have to be very careful about touching the ground or anything that may be contaminated with it. Pregnancy is not the best time to be a gardener, since bacteria or parasites are often found in the soil or on plants that are harmful to the baby. Like toxoplasmosis, in this case.
With regard to cats: a cat that lives inside the house and does not go out into the garden does not usually get infected. However, if you often run around and hunt pigeons or mice, you are at risk of infection. On the other hand, to contract this disease from cat feces it is necessary to touch them roughly, which is difficult.
So why expose yourself? And since it is not known with certainty if the cat is infected or not, the best thing to do is prevent: if you live with a cat and you are pregnant, it is better to avoid contact with the feline.
In these cases, it is advisable to go to a specialist to analyze the personal situation of each one and recommend the most appropriate treatment according to the case; even when suspicious, since sometimes the parasite can remain dormant.
