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Toxoplasmosis
What is toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused
by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite is found most often in
cats, but can also be transmitted to food and other items, and eventually
to humans.
What are the symptoms?
This disease manifests itself in
the mildest form in humans, and at times you may not even realise that
you are carrying the virus. Sometimes it has no symptoms, and at times
toxoplasmosis exhibits mild flu-like symptoms. BUT, if a pregnant woman
is carrying the virus, it can be fatal to her unborn baby.
Toxoplasmosis
- Could damage the baby's brain
- Could damage the baby's eyes
- Could cause severe retardation
at birth
- Could cause a miscarriage
Precautions
How can you avoid contracting
this diseases?
It's all about hygiene. Remember
what your parents taught you when you were a kid? It's time to put all
those basic rules into practice.
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Always, always wash your hands before
eating.
-
Always wash your hands after using the
bathroom.
-
Cover food kept in vessels so flies
don't sit on them.
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Never eat foods after the expiry date.
Always check the date of manufacture when buying a food item.
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Don't eat leftovers that are more than
2 days old.
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Steer clear of uncovered foods, as flies
may have sat on them.
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Always use clean utensils.
Meats
Toxoplasosis also gets transmitted
through the raw meat of an infected animal (eg. beef). So make sure you
cook it well, and when you re-heat non-veg leftovers, do so till they are
steaming.
While storing raw meat in your refrigerator,
cover it well so the juices don't drip on to other foods.
Additional precautions
for pregnant women
While these are basic hygienic precautions
everyone should take, there are certain additional precautions that a pregnant
woman should take, which include:
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Avoid dishes containing raw eggs.
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If you have a cat, don't clean its litter.
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Stay away from the feces of your cat
or dog.
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Keep your cat indoors as much as possible,
during the time you are pregnant.
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Avoid soft cheeses.
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Drink only boiled and pasturised milk.
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Avoid gardening during your pregnancy.
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Wash your hands as often as possible.
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Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly
under running water, before eating them.
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Don't eat raw shellfish or rare meat.
Could you
be immune?
If you have had this disease before,
it is more than likely that you've developed an immunity to it, but only
if you've had it at least 9 months before you were pregnant. This is because
the virus strains would still be in your blood and are capable of causing
damage to your fetus even 8-9 months after you've had the disease.
Visit your doctor
If you feel you may have contracted
the disease and are pregnant, visit your doctor immediately for a check-up.
He can put you on antibiotics to reduce the likelihood of the virus reaching
the fetus.
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