What is Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii belongs to the subclass Coccidia, order Coccidia, family Isosporidae, and genus Toxoplasma. It is an intracellular parasite that can live in nucleated cells except red blood cells. It is mainly transmitted through the digestive tract and blood. Toxoplasma gondii cysts and pseudocysts in various animal meats and Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in feline feces are the main sources of infection.

The main transmission routes of Toxoplasma gondii:

(1) Eating animal meat or offal (raw or undercooked) containing Toxoplasma gondii cysts or false cysts. (2) After coming into contact with meat or offal containing Toxoplasma gondii cysts or false cysts, the person grabs food with his hands without cleaning thoroughly in time. (3) After coming into contact with feline feces, grab food with your hands without cleaning thoroughly in time. (4) Living together with animals suffering from toxoplasmosis for a long time. (5) Mother-to-child transmission.

The harm of Toxoplasma gondii to humans:

Toxoplasma gondii is most well-known for its harm to pregnant women, which mainly manifests as miscarriage, premature birth, abnormal fetus or stillbirth. In addition, it can also cause neurodevelopmental disorders in newborn infants; hepatosplenomegaly; myocarditis; confluent pneumonia, etc.; in adults, it can cause lymphadenopathy; central nervous system abnormalities; toxoplasmic ophthalmopathy, etc.

How to prevent Toxoplasma gondii infection:

1. Do not keep pets loose. The dog’s behavior should be controlled, especially do not let it eat the carcasses of small animals. Some dogs like to chew small animals. Corpses, this is because dogs may have pica, you can give pet dogs instant calcium vitamins, which can effectively prevent dogs from pica.
2. Do not feed raw or undercooked meat to pets. Toxoplasma gondii eggs can be killed when cooked at 80°C for more than 1 minute, so the meat must be cooked and cooked during food processing. , pay attention to separate raw and cooked food. The same applies to human food.
3. Take pets to the pet hospital for regular physical examinations to detect and treat them in time.
4. If Toxoplasma gondii is found in a pet dog, it should be dealt with promptly. For sick dogs, pay special attention to how their excrement is disposed of. Toxoplasma gondii oocysts have high resistance to acid, alkali, and disinfectants, but have poor resistance to drying and high temperature. Try to use high-temperature disinfection and incineration to dispose of feces. If it is not disinfected (such as plastic, paper, etc.) was burned. At the same time, the owner should also go to the hospital to check the infection status in time to see if he is infected.
5. Pregnant owners should take their dogs for check-ups in time, avoid touching dog feces easily, and reduce their daily interactions with dogs.
6. Pet dogs should undergo regular physical examinations as much as possible, and owners should do daily cleaning work to prevent Toxoplasma infection. For families with dogsFriends, especially pregnant women, it is very important to understand how Toxoplasma gondii in dogs infects humans. Only with a full understanding can we protect ourselves from infection to the greatest extent, and can prevent dogs from contracting Toxoplasma gondii in the early stages. But early detection, early detection and early treatment are the most effective.