# Risk of toxoplasmosis- freaking out.



## Llh1107

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and had an event happen last night that has me extremely paranoid and about to have a mental breakdown. I've called my OB to ask for her advice but have not received a return call yet. Ugh. 

My husband and I have an adult indoor cat that is known for catching a few mice here and there (mice must have gotten in through our basement which is connected to a garage they could easily access). My husband has also always been in charge of litter duty as I'm not a big fan of cats. He does not consistently clean the litter or area the litter is in. Its a carpeted area and husband does not clean up litter that gets onto the carpet from cat going in and out of box so there's litter scattered on the floor. Gross. I pretty much refuse to walk into the room. 

That being said, husband was holding cat and likely got small amount of litter from cats paws on his hands. Shortly after we went out to dinner and shared chips and salsa meaning we were both handling and touching food off the same plate. I'm concerned my husband may have transmitted toxoplasmosis bacteria from his unwashed hands to the food we were both sharing, touching and ingesting. I didn't think about this til we finished eating. I'm super pissed at husband for being careless and not washing his hands before eating. I seriously feel like I will never forgive him if something happens to our unborn child. He still doesn't think it's a big deal and thinks I'm insane for even worrying. He's being such a careless jerk. 

Any honest advice on this? It is consuming me and i honestly don't know if I can sleep tonight with this fear overwhelming me.


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## elfin2011

I had a complete meltdown over toxoplasmosis in my first pregnancy, it really did consume me (for no good reason, as it turned out) so I can truly empathise with you. 

The fact that you have a cat living in the house with you means that you will probably already have had toxoplasmosis unbeknown to you (especially if your husband, like so many men, is not as hygienic as he could be :wacko:!). In addition, there are a lot of IFs in your sentence if you think about it. IF you haven't had toxoplasmosis and IF the cat has it and IF there was some on the litter on his paws and IF that transferred to your DH's hands and IF it was still there when you were eating and IF it was transferred to something you put in your mouth and IF you then digested it and then the big IF of it causing a problem for your baby. Do you see what I mean?

I appreciate that in the throes of pregnancy, with hormones going beserk, it is hard to negate even a teeny tiny risk, as you are being very protective of your unborn child. I did it too, my goodness I drove everyone mad, as I'd convinced myself that the burger I'd eaten wasn't fully cooked as I'd seen a tiny bit of redness in it, I researched it to the nth degree including detailed scientific reports on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in beef, and ultimately insisted that my MW did a blood test on me for toxoplasmosis 3 weeks after the incident (she also thought I was nuts). Of course, it was negative. But I do get reminded of 'the incident' at intervals amid lots of laughter.

Then in my second pregnancy, the doctors gave me plenty of things to worry about - luckily that turned out fine, too, but I now have the context to look at my worries in my first pregnancy and wish I'd just enjoyed it!


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## Rickles

Honestly that combination of events means the risks are absolutely tiny... please relax. Statistically I would be more "concerned" about winning the lottery :) x


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## Angelinheaven

hello ladies,

i have an indoor cat that sometimes goes out in out front garden where another stray cat come to play. but my cat doesnt touch the other cat. i had this cat for 3 years now and i am currently 13 weeks pregnant. i had a toxoplasmosis test last year and came negative. i do not touch cat's litter but my doctor got me worried as she told me that i could also get toxoplasmosis if i kiss the cat. i do kiss my cat many times and sometimes he touches his mouth with mines but i wash immediately. if my cat has toxoplasmosis, can i still get infected if i kiss him? am really really concerned


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## Katze

I wouldn't worry too much. The risks are very low if you've been around cats for a while like someone else said. I have 6 indoor cats and 1 outdoor cat. I'm 16 weeks pregnant. My doctor is not concerned at all. I have a friend who doesn't have a cat and actually got toxoplasmosis from sushi! 

Try not to stress yourself. Chances are you will BE FINE! People have a really big misconception about pregnancy and cats. Someone asked me, now that you're pregnant I assume you will get rid of your cats... I had to take a moment not to rip them a new one. Of course not!!!!


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## Angelinheaven

thank you so much Katze for the peace of mind. i really hope that


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## Angelinheaven

thank you so much Katze for the peace of mind. i really hope that I WILL BE FINE. but the thing is that i dont know if my cat has got toxoplasma or not. Dont know if he just has it now for the first time. he caught 2 mice 3 years ago from the house but i dont think they were infected. in fact, i am testing my cat next week to see if he got it. and i will do a blood test too. my doctor said that once you get it, it doesnt mean that you can get immune to it. i dont know why some doctors dont agree. they make me go crazy :(


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## Cat lady

Hey hun, 
You are highly unlikely to catch toxo in that one episode, I am a high risk as I am a vet nurse who works with lots of cats and I have 5 outdoor/indoor cats myself. You are far more likely to catch toxo due to undercooked meat.
As it is I have been nursing for 10years and assumed I would have immunity to it, but I was tested a couple of months ago when I first found out I was pregnant with this lo (They didnt bother with my first and assumed I would be immune) and it turns out I am NOT immune. If I havent caught it after working with literally thousands of cats (And kissing them), I am sure you are fine even after sharing chips with your manky husband!
Just make sure he washes his hands in future or eat the whole bowl yourself!
xxx


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## flashy09

I wouldn't worry. The chance of it living that long on his hands and being strong enough to somehow get on your chip is really unlikely. But I totally understand. I have an aquarium and had a dwarf frog - apparently they had an outbreak of a strain of salmonella that can be fatal to fetuses and pregnant women! I had cleaned the tank,etc before I knew and was certain I had it and we were all going to die. But, obviously we were fine. It's good to be viligiant, but you can probably relax about this


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## daisy72

In some countries there is a standard of checking toxo-negative pregnant women every two months, to catch the infection early and treat it. So probably to have a blood test is a good idea, just for your peace of mind.
I agree with Cat lady, toxo is not a flu, and it is not so easy to catch it. I have a friend who had cats all her life, she also took care of outdoor homeless cats, and she's still toxo-negative. Statistically, it is much easier to get it from raw/half-cooked meat. This is why in France and Italy, where tartare (raw ground beef marinated with olive oil and spices) is very popular, almost everybody has toxo-antibodies.


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