You can lower your risk of
toxoplasmosis by avoiding possible sources of the
toxoplasma parasite. Your risk increases if you:
- Eat undercooked meat or any food that has
touched raw meat. Any meat is potentially infected.
- Eat or drink
contaminated fruits, vegetables, or water.
- Eat with unwashed hands
or utensils that have touched raw meat.
- Clean a cat's litter box
and fail to wash your hands afterward, or breathe in cat litter
- Garden or work the soil without gloves and hand-washing. The
parasite can survive in soil for months after being left behind by a
Risks to the fetus
The further along in pregnancy
you become infected by toxoplasmosis, the greater the chance of fetal
infection. But the earlier fetal infection occurs, the greater the risk of more
severe problems after birth.
Any baby born with toxoplasmosis
needs treatment to prevent later problems from the infection.
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