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Toxoplasmosis
A frequent infectious disease happening ubiquitous, the toxoplasmosis, is of a special significance in connection with the pregnancy topic. Cause of this disease is Toxoplasma gondii, an animal, single-celled parasite. Cats are main host of the protist. Infected animals eliminate infectious manifestations (oocysts) of the causative agent with the excrement. The causative agents can be taken perorally of people or animals for slaughter, distributed by wind and dust. The infection springs for the man are cat excrement and infected raw meat.
About 40% of the pregnant women have antibodies at the beginning of the pregnancy against toxoplasmosis. Only 0.2% of the pregnant woman are infected during the pregnancy with the parasite for the first time. It isn't remarked often that at all an infection has taken place. The first infection can go or only influenza similar symptoms like a light fever, weariness, forehead headaches, muscle and joint pains, as well as occasional diarrhea show without recognizable health impairments.
For the unborn one a first (primary) infection of the mother represents a danger in the pregnancy. The causative agent destroys parts of the villus epithelium of the placenta, is transferred to the fetus and hurts it. Miscarriages, stillbirths and serious lesions can be the consequences. Typical toxoplasmosis symptoms let themselves be seen already at the birth with approximately 10% of the children infected in the womb. Jaundice, lung inflammation, water on brain (hydrocephalus), cerebral calcifications, spasms, coagulopathies, comes to infections of the eyes, liver and splenomegaly. Some of these children die after the birth within less days. The survivors often have brain lesions, eye problems, epileptic attacks. Seeming up to 90% of all infected children to be healthy at the birth. Eye problems which can lead to the loss of sight appear to years at them only months later. This one kicks hearing lesions and retardations for healthy children at a low part putatively. The earlier an infection takes place in the pregnancy with the toxic plasmas, the worse the effects are for the child. There isn't a vaccination against the parasite!
If in the household a cat lives or if one has professionally to do with meat or animals in any case one should are carried out most barely, which gives information about an infection already gone in front of the pregnancy. If the result is negative which means these aren't availably antibodies, a renewed test makes sense every two to three months.
Generally is an antibody test is carried out at the first check-up. If a primary infection was stated in the pregnancy, the possibility of an extended ultrasound scan still is to exclude damages to the child. Another possibility is the amniocentesis to find out whether the causative agent has reached the fetus at all. As of the 16th pregnancy week a treatment of the pregnant woman is possible also with combination preparations from pyrimethamine and special antibiotics. The newborn child still is also treated in any case with medicines after the birth over a longer time period. In any case it is the best not to catch the parasite.
Preventive measures for the toxoplasmosis prophylaxis are:
- On raw meat (infected animals for slaughter)!do without, not lick food off at the preparation either.
- Washing the hands thoroughly: after handling raw meat after the gardening (pathogene remains cat excrement infection capable buried in the soil up to 24 month) after touching the cat in front of every eating.
- Washing the windfall and raw vegetables before the consumption thoroughly.
- Clean the cat loo minimumly, but not by the pregnant woman. She really must do it out of any reasons only with gloves.
- Building the cat loo far away from the living spaces.
- Letting the cat at the eating on the table under no circumstances. Have cat of the veterinarian eliminating the oocysts treated, they don't feed with raw meat.
These informations may be considered a substitute for a piece of medical advice in no case. The content of health-illness.com doesn't can and may be put into any case to make diagnoses or carry out self medical treatment independently.
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