Toxoplasmosis is a potentially dangerous infection that’s caused by a bacteria. While it usually produces no more than flu-like symptoms in a healthy person, symptoms of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy can be serious enough to cause birth defects or stillbirth. Most toxoplasmosis infections are caused by eating or handling undercooked meat that is infected, although drinking contaminated water or handling contaminated soil can also cause an infection. Today, most pregnant women are also advised not to handle cat litter as well because many cats carry and pass along the infection.
Symptoms of Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy
Unfortunately, most people display no symptoms whatsoever, making it difficult to know if they are infected without a blood test. Still, symptoms that do appear tend to resemble the flu. Common symptoms include fatigue, unexplained muscle aches, a fever and swollen lymph glands. If you suspect you have a toxoplasmosis infection, your doctor will need to order a special blood test that can show a current or past infection. Because this test is not routine, you’ll need to mention it to your health care provider specifically.
Toxoplasmosis Symptoms in Baby
About one third of women infected with the bacteria will pass it on to their baby through the placenta. This infection is most likely to occur early in the pregnancy, which also results in more severe symptoms for the baby than a later transmission. Most babies infected during the pregnancy will show no symptoms upon birth but may later develop problems with hearing, vision and learning. Toxoplasmosis infection can also lead to more severe symptoms in the baby, including stillbirth or miscarriage, water on the brain, brain damage, blindness, deafness and epilepsy.
Symptoms of Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy
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