Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy: Dangerous and precautionary

Most pregnant mothers do not know they have been infected with toxoplasma during pregnancy, but this is a dangerous condition that needs to be detected promptly.

During pregnancy, the immune system of the pregnant mother can weaken, allowing some infectious diseases such as toxoplasma to enter the body. This is a fairly dangerous infection that gets little attention.

In this article, aFamilyToday Health invites you to learn about toxoplasma infection in pregnant mothers and methods of treatment and prevention.

What is toxoplasmosis?

Toxoplasma is a common infection in warm, humid climates. The disease occurs in almost all birds and mammals, including humans. Pathogenic parasites can be found in cat meat, feces, soil where cats defecate, and unpasteurized goat milk . The parasite infects most warm-blooded birds and animals, including humans. Cats are the only animals that release infected feces.

Signs of toxoplasma include mild flu- like symptoms , such as a high temperature, sore throat, and muscle aches. In most cases, however, toxoplasma does not cause any symptoms. 

Toxoplasma only causes mild illness in people with a healthy immune system. However, a woman infected with toxoplasma during pregnancy can harm the unborn baby.

You cannot get infected by petting a cat, but you can become infected by contact with the feces of an infected cat.

Risk of fetal toxoplasma

The negative effects it causes will depend on when you got the infection during pregnancy. If you get infected with toxoplasma during pregnancy and this is the first time you get sick, it doesn't mean your baby will too. Doctors recorded that for every 10 cases of infection, there will be an average of 4 cases passed to the baby. 

Infection with this parasite can cause miscarriage , stillbirth or damage to the baby's brain and other organs, especially the eyes.

However, most babies born with congenital toxoplasmosis do not show obvious abnormalities at birth but will develop symptoms, usually eye damage, in childhood or even adulthood. Fort.

How is toxoplasmosis spread?

Women who get toxoplasmosis through oral pregnancy when swallowing or touching their lips with their hands after coming into contact with a parasitic container, such as:

Meat

Vegetables have not been washed 

Cat feces or soil contaminated with cat feces contain germs

Unpasteurized goat milk or their products.

In addition, this infection can be transmitted through:

Open wound

Through the placenta if pregnant mother becomes infected

Through blood if pregnant mothers need blood transfusion due to health problems. 

Breastfeeding when infected with toxoplasma

It is safe to breastfeed your baby while you are infected with toxoplasma. This is because the parasite is not transmitted through breast milk. In addition, breastfeeding will help improve the child's resistance . 

Treatment for toxoplasma infection during pregnancy

If your doctor confirms that you are infected, you may be prescribed an antibiotic called spiramycin , which helps to reduce the risk of infection from mother to child. However, spiramycin is effective against parasites. Therefore, it is not possible to limit any damage if the baby is already infected.

In case the fetus has toxoplasma infection, the doctor will combine pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. These are all stronger antibiotics and help limit any damage to your baby.

The 20-week pregnancy ultrasound will also help detect the physical defects in the fetus. In addition, if you find that the fetus has serious abnormalities, the doctor may recommend the mother elected to suspend the pregnancy . All children born infant whose mother was toxoplasmosis during pregnancy will be closely monitored and blood tests in the first year.

Side effects of treatment

Women taking spiramycin sometimes experience side effects such as nausea or rash . The use of pyrimethamine and sulphadiazine sometimes causes side effects in both the mother and the fetus, related to red blood cell production. To minimize the above risks, the drug will be administered with folinic acid. 

Prevent toxoplasma infection during pregnancy

There are a few ways to help reduce your risk of disease that you can consider:

Avoid raw or undercooked meats

Do not taste meat before they are cooked

Keep the cat away from the kitchen area

Give your cat canned food instead of meat 

Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables before eating them to eliminate the risk of infection with pathogenic parasites

Wash your hands and sanitize cutting boards and tools thoroughly after handling raw meat

Put on gloves when gardening, remove cat droppings and wash your hands and sanitize them afterwards. 

Clean your cat's litter box often with boiling water.

Pregnant mothers should comply with the above rules to ensure the safety of your baby, especially when your immune system is weakening. 

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