Got what symptom does Toxoplasma gondii have

summary

The incidence rate of Toxoplasma is still high in our lives. It is clear to all domestic cats and dogs. Many newspapers and periodicals have warned the public that cats and dogs can cause toxoplasmosis and cause terrible fetal malformations. Although this is necessary, it is a pity that many articles are not accurate enough. Some exaggerate and sensationalize, causing the public to panic without reason and causing many small animals to be abandoned. In this paper, pet owners often put forward a few questions to give answers.

Got what symptom does Toxoplasma gondii have

First: toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii parasitism. Toxoplasma gondii infection is very common all over the world. About 16-40% of adults in the United States and the United Kingdom have been infected, and some of them have been investigated as 70%. However, 50-80% of adults in the European continent and Latin America have been infected, and 90% in France. The survey of 23 provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China from 1985 to 90 shows that most of them are below 10%, which is obviously lower than that of foreign countries. The majority of normal people infected with Toxoplasma gondii have no symptoms, or the symptoms are very mild, and they don't know when they were infected. Only a few people had fever, lymphadenectasis, headache, muscle and joint pain and abdominal pain when they were first infected (or primary infection). After a few days or weeks, the symptoms disappeared as the human body developed immunity, It's just that the cysts that form exist in the body for months, years or longer, and generally heal themselves. However, Toxoplasma infection is very serious in patients with severe immunodeficiency, such as AIDS patients. Infection in pregnant women can be transmitted to the fetus, which may have serious consequences.

Second: the first is to eat undercooked meat, especially pigs and sheep. Almost all mammals and birds, such as mice, pigs, sheep, cattle, rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese, can be infected with Toxoplasma gondii, and the infection rate is very high. The main source of human infection comes from the meat of these animals. If the temperature of hot pot is not enough or the time is too short, and the Toxoplasma gondii is not killed, there is a risk of infection. Contamination of raw or cut meat boards can also be contagious. Contaminated sheep and milk can also be infected. The low infection rate of Toxoplasma gondii in Chinese population may be related to the cooked meat eating habits of Chinese people. Dogs can also infect Toxoplasma gondii, but their feces and excrement are not infectious. If you don't eat dog meat, you won't be infected. Some people say that "dogs are closely related to people and are one of the important sources of infection of human beings". There is also a lack of evidence that children born with "low intellectual development, congenital heart disease or one more finger" are blamed on raising dogs at home.

Third: infected cat manure is an important source of infection. Cats and felines are the final hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. The excretion of Toxoplasma gondii cysts from infected cat feces generally lasts for 1 week to 20 days, and rarely longer. This period is the period of infection. About 1% of the faeces collected from cats around the world contain Toxoplasma gondii cysts. The zygotes in cat dung must develop in the outside world for 2-5 days before they are infectious, so it is very important when to deal with cat dung. Cysts can live in water and wet soil for months or longer, so food, drinking water, and even dust contaminated by cat manure can be infected by humans. In areas where meat is fully cooked, cats are an important source of human infection. However, many other animals as intermediate hosts can also spread. For example, there are few cats in many pastures, and there are also many cattle and sheep infected. Moreover, there are individual islands in the world without cats, and the infection rate of island residents is still very high. Therefore, there is an important book "human parasitology" in China, which says: due to the high infection rate of domestic animals as intermediate hosts, the pollution of cat manure is less important than eating uncooked meat from the source of human infection.

matters needing attention

Pregnant women infected with Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted to the fetus, the occurrence of congenital infection, congenital infection of the fetus may have serious consequences, so it is very important. However, only pregnant women who have not been infected with Toxoplasma gondii before pregnancy can be infected to the fetus if they have primary infection during pregnancy. If a pregnant woman has been infected with Toxoplasma gondii before pregnancy, she is no longer at risk of infection.