Toxoplasma is an infection caused by a parasite. It is
transmitted by eating uncooked raw meats and by treating cat feces and any
items in contact with cat feces. This disease has no direct relation with dogs.
If pregnant people get the infection in these ways, the infection can also be
passed on to the baby through the placenta.
Cats are the main host and carrier of this parasite.
In the cat's intestine, the forms of the parasite called
sporozoite multiply by dividing and are excreted in the form of oocysts with
feces. These oocysts are quite resistant to the external environment. They can
be transmitted to anything in the external environment, and from there they can
pass through to the person. Transmission occurs by mouth removal of parasitic
tissue cysts in uncooked or uncooked raw meats or oocysts on unwashed fruits
and vegetables. Parasites can be taken orally by contaminating oocysts in the
soil or cat droppings.
This infection is usually undetected without any problems in
normal healthy children or adults after the incubation period of 5-18 days and
does not require treatment. It can be problematic for people with a disease
that disrupts the immune system, such as AIDS, and for the baby during
pregnancy. In fact, almost half of people become infected with toxoplasma at
any time in their lives, but most people do not show any symptoms. It usually
heals spontaneously with mild symptoms such as flu-like fever, fatigue,
weakness, muscle and joint pain.
On average, 1-2 out of every 1000 pregnancies pass acute
toxoplasma infection during pregnancy. Infections in pregnancy are often not
noticed, as in other people, and do not cause complaints in the mother.
What harm
can the baby do?
The infection can pass to the baby as low as 15% in the first
3 months. In the second trimester, the transition rate to the baby is 30%, in
the third trimester, the transition rate is 60%. But the infection passed on to
the baby in the first trimester creates more serious problems. The infection in
the following months causes fewer problems.
Infection before pregnancy does not pose a risk for
pregnancy.
Infection to the baby may be low, death in the uterus, brain
damage, hydrocephalus (collecting water in the brain), cerebral calcification,
vision problems (chorioretinitis), mental retardation, hearing problems,
developmental retardation, enlargement of the liver and spleen, pneumonia,
myocarditis, rash.
The classic triple damage of the disease, namely its triad,
is 1. hydrocephalus (water retention in the brain), 2. intracranial (in the
brain) calcifications and 3. chorioretinitis (eye damage).
In some infants, no damage or anomaly has been observed in
the tests performed during pregnancy or immediately after birth, although it
was proved that the infection passed on to the baby.
In some infants, although an abnormality was not observed at
birth, long-term follow-up years, vision and hearing problems, and neurological
damage were observed.
Diagnosis
of infection in the mother:
There are some methods for the detection of the parasite
itself or antibodies against the parasite in the mother. These are tests such
as mouse inoculation test, cell culture, determination of parasite antigens,
PCR and parasite DNA. There are various tests such as Sabin-Fendman test, IFAT,
UAV, EIA, ISAGA, ELISA for the detection of antibodies against parasite in the
mother.
IgM from antibodies detected by these methods indicates that
the infection has just been passed. The IgG antibody indicates the past and
immunized infection. However, these antibodies may not always give very clear
information. The IgM antibody can sometimes remain positive for 1-2 years after
infection. In this case, it is tried to obtain information about how long the
infection was passed with the Toxoplasma IgG avidity test. The high avidity
test results indicate that the infection was passed at least 3 months ago. Low
avidity test results indicate that the infection has been experienced within
the last 3 months.
-COLD AND FLU IN PREGNANCY
-SYPHILIS INFECTION IN PREGNANCY
-CHICKENPOX AND SHINGLES INFECTION IN PREGNANCY
-TOXOPLASM INFECTION IN PREGNANCY
