She should be encouraged to take primary preventive measures. If toxoplasmosis serology is performed, a baseline should be done as early as possible with serial follow up in the second and third trimesters. Toxoplasma gondii , an intracellular parasite, is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis. Infection in humans usually follows ingestion of raw meat, such as lamb, pork, or beef. 1 Less commonly, transmission can occur through ingestion of poorly washed raw vegetables contaminated with oocysts or unpasteurized goat's milk or cheese.
Infection can also occur by ingesting the oocysts in cat feces.
2 Water-borne transmission was suspected in a recent outbreak in Victoria, although the literature contains only one other report of this type of transmission. In immunocompetent hosts, infection is usually asymptomatic. The risk to pregnant women depends on whether they have previously acquired immunity. This varies from country to country and is dependent primarily on cultural practices. Although pregnant women are at no higher risk than the general population for becoming infected, mothers who have asymptomatic infection during pregnancy can produce infants who are affected severely.