Solutions for Not Contracting Toxoplasmosis during Pregnancy

One of the things that many women get along during pregnancy is to not take serrano chicken or any other sausage during pregnancy to prevent infection of toxoplasmosis. They are usually many doubts about whether it is possible to eat sausage after cooking it or freeze it, because apparently there is no consensus on the matter, and many doctors have different opinions. Let’s try to clarify a bit the issue.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite called toxoplasma gondii which is parasitizing the flesh of many animals, including pigs. It is a disease that if it shrinks in another stage of life tends to be asymptomatic and does not give any clinic or only some nonspecific flu-like symptoms, but that If purchased while pregnant it can be transmitted to the fetus and cause very serious problems.

For this reason during pregnancy are performed several blood test that looks for if the MOM has passed the disease previously (and has been immunized for it) or if on the other hand has never had contact with her, and therefore still has the risk of catching and transmitting it to the baby according to elishui, a maternity fashion blog.

In the latter case, prohibits the mother consuming meat and sausage products non-processed, as well as fruits and not well washed vegetables that may be carrying the bug. It is also recommended not to have a deal close with cats, toxoplasma usually parasitize them and these excreted in feces when have they been infected.

Toxoplasma dies at high cooking temperatures, so if you can eat well cooked products during pregnancy, this includes the chopedd, cooked ham, mortadella, or Turkey. For example, if you can eat a sausage well pasadito in the frying pan. Are you must reach a temperature of more than 65 degrees when it comes to frying, i.e. the microwave is not enough. Eye, the ham is cooked, only cured.

Regarding freezing, the parasite not endure temperatures of 20 ° C below zero during 2 days or 10 ° c below freezing for 3 days, so you can eat food that has been frozen at 10 degrees below zero or more provided that they have been frozen for a few days, and after have been descongelalos slowly. The problem is that some of our freezers do not reach these cold temperatures, so they are not valid to destroy the parasite, so make sure before using this method.

Apart from cooking, freeze or not, we have to bear in mind is that packaged products that we purchase in large supermarket and trusted brands, have passed rigorous quality checks and they should be free of the disease, so all well packaged food you could eat. At all costs avoid products arriving directly kills.

Regarding transmission through a cat, must know that these will only acquire the infection if they are in contact with ground (toxoplasma can keep be infectious long time in moist soil) or eat infected meat. If you have a cat at home, the first thing that should be is an analysis to the cat to see if it went the infection or not. Once you passed it, it is inmunizdo and already you can not catch it. Therefore if the cat passed the disease, the problem is over.

If it didn’t, the possibility of acquiring it the cat is very remote. If it is a cat who never leaves home, the only possibility is to catch is eating raw meat. If it takes a long time going out to the street, chances are that you’ve passed the disease. If collapses it, the period that is releasing the parasite only also 15 days, whereupon it is quite unlikely that infect us.

General recommendations to prevent infection of toxoplasmosis:

    • Cook the meat thoroughly.
    • Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat.
    • Do not take milk or raw eggs.
    • Wash fruits and vegetables.
    • Avoid gardening jobs.


  • Avoid contact with cats. If you have cats:
      • Give them food prepared or commercially but well cooked, not raw foods
      • Instruct others, always using the drawer, empty it daily and disinfecting it periodically clean their droppings.
      • Wash your hands thoroughly after contact with them