NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/pets/cats/15368

Text File | 1992-12-22 | 1.6 KB | 36 lines

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Path: sparky!uunet!europa.asd.contel.com!darwin.sura.net!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!lynx!zia.aoc.nrao.edu!rmilner
From: [e-mail] (Ruth Milner)
Subject: Re: Pregnant women/litter question
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Ruth Milner)
Cc: [e-mail]
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 16:46:59 GMT
Lines: 23

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jack Webb) writes:
>> Laura Bassi writes:
>>   pregnant women and cat litter.  Apparently, contact w/ cat litter (used,
>> I
>>   assume :), is dangerous to the developing fetus. Anyone hear of anything
>>   about this?
>
>Yes, there is a danger of pregnant women contracting TOXOPLASMOSIS.  A
>parasite that lives in cat feces can cause it.

The organism can cause birth defects.  Note that there is a much higher risk
of contracting it through contact with raw meat. You should retrieve the FAQ
list and read the section there; it is very informative.

If you have lived with cats for a long time, you have probably already been
exposed to it, had the disease (the symptoms are just like those of a mild
cold), and become immune, in which case you are safe. You can get a blood test
to check this, although someone posted here a while back that his wife tried
to do that and the clinic refused. It wasn't clear whether expense or something
else was the reason for that.
--
Ruth Milner                          NRAO/VLA                  Socorro NM
Computing Division Head      [e-mail]