The toxoplasmosis infection is caused by the Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite.
Some of the ways in which you may come into contact with this parasite are outlined below.
- Contact with cat faeces - either in a litter tray or in soil. The parasite breeds in the bowels of cats and is released in their faeces. Cat faeces can also contaminate soil, fruit and vegetables, water and other animals.
- Undercooked or raw infected meat - either by eating it or touching your mouth after handling it. Grazing animals can become infected after eating contaminated grass and animal feed. Venison, lamb and pork are more likely to be infected.
- Contaminated knives, cutting boards and other utensils that have been in contact with contaminated, undercooked or raw meat.
- Eating or drinking infected unpasteurised goats' milk or products that are made from it, such as cheese.
There is also a small risk that the toxoplasmosis infection could be passed on from sheep during the lambing season. This is because the T. gondii parasite is sometimes found in the afterbirth and on newborn lambs after an infected sheep has given birth.
Toxoplasmosis cannot be passed on through person-to-person contact. This means that:
- you cannot catch toxoplasmosis from contact with a person who is infected
- you cannot pass toxoplasmosis on to your children if you have previously had the infection
- it is not possible to pass the infection on through breastfeeding
However, in very rare cases, people have developed toxoplasmosis from an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion.
Congenital toxoplasmosis
Congenital toxoplasmosis is where a baby is born with toxoplasmosis. The mother passes the infection on to her baby through the placenta (the organ that links the mother’s blood supply to her unborn baby’s).
However, congenital toxoplasmosis can only occur if the mother becomes infected for the first time either while she is pregnant or shortly before conceiving. Congenital toxoplasmosis is more likely to occur if a woman becomes infected later in her pregnancy.
For example, if you become infected around the time of conception, there is less than a 5% chance that your baby will also develop the infection. However, if you become infected during the third trimester of your pregnancy (from week 27 until the birth), there is about a 65% chance that your baby will also be infected.
One study calculated that for every week further along the pregnancy that the mother was infected, the likelihood of the toxoplasmosis infection being passed on to her baby increased by 12%.
