HealthPartners - Your guide to pregnancy

TOXOPLASMOSIS Toxoplasmosis is an infection you can get from eating raw or undercooked, contaminated meat. If you become infected with toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, you may have mild flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all. But this illness can infect your unborn child, possibly causing permanent eye and neurological damage. Cats can also transmit the disease. Outdoor cats may ingest the parasites that cause toxoplasmosis by eating small animals such as birds, mice, or rats. They pass the organism into their stool, contaminating their cat litter box. To avoid toxoplasmosis: • Only eat meat that has been thoroughly cooked • Use gloves or ask someone else to scoop the litter box while you’re pregnant • Wash your hands carefully after touching your cat, handling uncooked meats, or working in the garden ZIKA VIRUS DISEASE (ZVD) This disease is caused by the Zika virus. Most people who get the virus were bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito. Although less common, infected men can pass the virus to their partners through sexual contact. If you have the Zika virus, you can transmit it to your baby during pregnancy or at childbirth. The symptoms of the disease are fever, skin rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). They usually appear 3-14 days after the mosquito bite or sexual contact with an infected partner. Symptoms can last up to a week but can go unnoticed or be mild. There is currently no vaccine or specific medical treatment for Zika. Catching this infection during pregnancy can cause serious problems for your baby. Microcephaly (baby’s head is smaller than expected), abnormal brain development, visual difficulties, hearing problems, and other neurological disorders have occurred. If you think you’ve been exposed to the Zika virus, call your health care provider right away. Aedes mosquitoes live in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates. The Zika virus is found primarily in South America, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. There have been scattered reports of Zika virus transmission by mosquitoes in the southern United States. If you are pregnant or considering pregnancy, do not travel to areas with reported Zika outbreaks . If your partner lives in or travels to an area where the Zika virus is active or spreading, either use a condom every time you have sex or don’t have sex at all.

Tips to prevent Zika exposure from mosquitoes

• Use insect repellent containing DEET • Wear a long-sleeve shirt and pants • Take steps to control mosquitoes • Sleep under a net when traveling

Your Guide to A Healthy Pregnancy

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