Toxoplasma; It is an infection caused by the parasite called "toxoplasma gondii". Infection occurs by eating uncooked raw meat. At the same time, cats are the main host and carrier of this parasite. It can also be transmitted from soil and water contaminated with cat feces.
Toxoplasma infection in adults usually does not cause symptoms, but can also manifest itself with mild weakness and fever. However, in pregnant women, the parasite can be transmitted to the baby by entering the bloodstream. Pregnant women should be screened for toxoplasma and whether they have had the infection before.
The infection can be transmitted to the baby at a rate as low as 15% in the first 3 months. The transmission rate to the baby in the second trimester is 30%, and in the third trimester the transmission rate is 60%. Most of the babies infected in the abdomen do not have any abnormal findings at birth. In some babies, low birth weight, enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice, anemia, nervous system disorders, calcifications in the brain, water accumulation in the brain, small skull and blindness may be observed. Depending on these brain findings, seizures may occur in the child. In addition, although it is completely normal at birth, blindness may occur later in some babies.
What Should Pregnant Women Do When They Have Toxoplasmosis?
Whether the infection is transmitted to the baby or not. Some tests can be done to detect it. Detecting the parasite or IgM antibody in the blood of the fetus can be done, as well as detecting the parasite in the amniotic fluid. In addition, some of the anomalies described above in infected fetuses can also be observed with ultrasound.
It cannot be said that toxoplasma infection during pregnancy will definitely harm the baby. This risk is explained to the family and if the family wants the pregnancy to be terminated, the pregnancy is terminated. If the family does not want the pregnancy to be terminated, antibiotic treatment is started and antibiotics should continue to be given to the baby after birth. Antibiotic treatment cannot prevent the baby from being affected, but it reduces the severity of the effects on the baby.
Precautions that can be taken:
- Meat should be cooked well. Raw or undercooked meat It should definitely not be eaten.
- If raw meat is touched by hand, hands should be washed thoroughly. Gloves can be used when handling meat.
- Foods such as salami and sausage should be avoided.
- Knives with which you cut raw meat should be washed thoroughly.
- People who feed cats should also wear gloves when changing the food.
- If a cat is fed at home, raw meat should not be given to the cat and the cat should not be taken outside.
- Pregnant women should not come into contact with cat feces.
- You should wash fruits and vegetables with plenty of water.
- Do not contact the garden and soil with bare hands
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