Article: Meat, dairy, and plant foods can all be infected with toxoplasmosis. Avoid eating raw meats. This includes rare meats and cured meats, particularly lamb, mutton, pork, beef, and goat. This includes sausages and smoked hams. If the animal was infected with toxoplasmosis, the parasites may still be alive and infectious. Cook whole cuts of meat to at least 145F (62.8C), ground meat to at least 160F (71.1C), and poultry to at least 165F (73.9C). Measure the temperature with a cooking thermometer in the thickest part. After you stop cooking, the temperature should remain at that temperature or above for at least three minutes. Freeze meat for several days below 0F (-17.8C). This will reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of infection. Wash and/or peel all fruits and vegetables. If the fruit or vegetable was in contact with contaminated soil, it can transmit toxoplasmosis to you unless you wash it or peel it. Do not drink unpasteurized milk products, eat cheese made from unpasteurized milk or drink untreated water. Clean all cooking implements and surfaces (such as knives and cutting boards) that came into contact with raw or unwashed foods. Soil can be infected if an infected animal has recently defecated in that area. You can reduce your risks by: Wearing gloves when gardening and washing your hands thoroughly afterwards. Covering sandboxes to prevent cats from using it as a litter box. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that it is not necessary to give up your cat if you are pregnant. There are several things you can do to reduce your risk including: Getting your cat tested to see if he is carrying toxoplasmosis. Keeping your cats indoors. Cats become infected when they come in contact with the feces of other infected cats or by eating infected prey animals. Keeping your cat inside will reduce both risks. Feed your cat commercial canned or dry food. Do not give your cat raw or undercooked meat. If the cat's food is infected, the cat can become infected. Not touching stray cats, especially kittens. Not getting a new cat with an unknown medical history. Not changing the litter box if you are pregnant. Ask someone else to do it. If you must change it, wear disposable gloves, a face mask, and wash your hands afterwards. The box should be changed daily because the parasite generally requires one to five days to become infectious in feces.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Reduce your risk of eating infected foods. Avoid coming in contact with infected soil. Manage the risk presented by pet cats.