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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffAlthough effective therapy is available for toxoplasmosis, all treatments have side effects and may not protect an unborn child. That's why the best approach is prevention. These precautions can help keep you safe:
- Wear gloves when you garden or handle soil. Gardening can be relaxing and fulfilling, but it can also expose you to toxoplasmosis. Wear gloves whenever you work outdoors, and then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially before you eat or prepare food.
- Don't eat raw or undercooked meat. Meat, especially lamb, pork and beef, can harbor toxoplasma organisms. Don't taste meat before it's fully cooked. Avoid raw cured meat.
- Wash kitchen utensils thoroughly. After preparing raw meat, thoroughly wash cutting boards, knives and other kitchen utensils in hot, soapy water to prevent cross-contamination of other foods. Wash your hands carefully after handling raw meat.
- Wash or peel all fruits and vegetables. If possible, use a vegetable soap to wash fruits and vegetables, especially if you're eating them raw. Otherwise, scrub them carefully.
- Don't drink unpasteurized milk. Unpasteurized milk and other dairy products may contain toxoplasma parasites.
- Cover children's sandboxes. If you have children, be sure to cover their sandbox whenever they're done playing. Cats may defecate in an open sandbox.
For cat lovers
If you are living with HIV/AIDS, or are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, you're right to be concerned about toxoplasmosis. But you don't have to give up your cat. Here are a few simple steps that can keep both you and your animal companion healthy:
- Help your cat stay healthy. Keep your cat indoors and feed it dry or canned cat food, not raw meat. Cats can become infected from eating infected prey or undercooked meat that contains the parasite.
- Don't adopt stray cats or kittens. Although all stray animals need good homes, it's best to let someone else adopt them. Most cats don't show signs of toxoplasma infection, and although they can be tested for toxoplasmosis, it may take up to a month to get the results.
- Have someone else clean your cat's litter box. If that's not possible, always wear gloves to change the litter and then wash your hands well with soap and hot water. Change the litter box every day so that any excreted oocysts don't have time to become infectious. Disinfect the litter box with scalding water — chemical disinfectants aren't effective against T. gondii — but don't set the box on the kitchen counter or allow your cat on the kitchen counter.
References
- Toxoplasmosis fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/factsheet.html. Accessed May 5, 2009.
- Martin-Rabada P, et al. Blood and tissue protozoa. In: Cohen J, et al. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Mosby; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/135708454-2/0/1209/737.html?tocnode=49359306&fromURL=737.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02407-6..50247-6--cesec17_8111. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- Kasper LH. Toxoplasma infections. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2896423. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- McLeod R, et al. Toxoplasmosis (toxoplasma gondii). In: Kleigman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/135783748-2/0/1608/732.html?tocnode=54480801&fromURL=732.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50289-9_6064. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- Toxoplasmosis. March of Dimes. http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1228.asp. Accessed May 6, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Preventing congenital toxoplasmosis. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2000;49:57. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4902a5.htm. Accessed May 8, 2009.
- You can prevent toxo. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/brochures/toxo.htm. Accessed May 5, 2009.
- Montoya JG, et al. Diagnosis and management of toxoplasmosis. Clinics in Perinatology. 2005;32:705.
