Toxoplasmosis is a commonly discussed disease. It is a zoonotic disease, a disease that can be passed to people from animals. In the case of toxoplasmosis, cats are the most commonly implicated source of infection although there are other species of animals that can carry the disease as well.
What Is Toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis, or "toxo" as it sometimes called, is caused by a parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii.
The disease is spread through contact with infected feces. Infected cats typically only shed the organism for a short period of time after infection.
Most commonly, toxoplasmosis causes minimal or no symptoms at all in a healthy individual. Infected cats typically show few or no symptoms of disease either. When symptoms are seen, they are generally flu-like in nature.
However, for pregnant women, toxoplasmosis can infect the unborn fetus and cause abortions, premature delivery and damage to the fetus' eyes, nervous system, skin, and ears. This occurs only if the mother is infected during her pregnancy. If she is exposed prior to becoming pregnant, the fetus is usually safe.
Toxoplasmosis may also be dangerous for an immunosuppressed individual. Because of the inability of the body to fight infection, the organism is more likely to cause disease. Toxoplasmosis in an immunosuppressed individual can be serious and even life-threatening.
Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Toxoplasmosis
There are several precautions you can take to protect yourself and your family from toxoplasmosis. This is especially important for pregnant women and people with a suppressed immune system.
- Avoid eating uncooked meat. Some species of food animals, such as pigs and sheep, can be infected with toxoplasmosis. Cooking the meat will reduce the risk of transmission of disease.
- Wash hands thoroughly after handling raw meat.
- Wash all vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating them.
- Consider wearing gloves wearing gardening or digging in the dirt. Stray or outdoor cats often use gardens to relieve themselves, leaving their feces in the dirt.
- If you are pregnant or have a suppressed immune system, ask someone else in the household to clean the litterbox, if possible. If you must clean the box, wear gloves when doing so and clean the box daily.
- If your children have sandboxes, cover them when not in use to prevent outdoor cats from using them as a litterbox.
- Never dispose of your cat's used cat litter in your garden or yard.