000751 Undercooked Meat Linked to Infection in Pregnancy

New York - Eating undercooked meat during pregnancy increases the risk of developing toxoplasmosis, a parasite infection that can spread to the developing fetus, researchers report.

In Europe, toxoplasmosis affects between 1 and 10 in 10,000 newborns. Some of these infants die from the infection, and many others develop significant learning difficulties or loss of vision. The only way to prevent toxoplasmosis during pregnancy is to avoid the risk factors, according to Dr. R. E. Gilbert, of the Institute of Child Health in London, UK, and associates.

“The single most important health message for pregnant women in all centres in the study is to avoid eating any meat that has not been thoroughly cooked,” the authors write.

In an effort to clarify the risks, the researchers interviewed 252 women who developed toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and 858 women who did not. The results of their study are published in the July 15th issue of the British Medical Journal.

The investigators found that the risk of infection was doubled or tripled among women who ate raw or undercooked lamb, beef or other meat, had contact with soil, or traveled outside the United States or Europe. As many as 63% of the infections could be attributed to undercooked meat consumption.

Women who tasted meat while preparing meals, ate salami, drank unpasteurized milk or worked with animals also appeared to have a slight increase in risk, though those factors were only weakly associated with infection.

Although pregnant women are usually told to steer clear of cats due to the risk of toxoplasmosis, the researchers found that contact with felines was not a risk in their study. This may be because cats only shed the infectious particles, or oocysts, for a 2-week period of their life--when they are first infected.

However, at that point they excrete 10 million oocysts per day in their feces, which can spread to soil and water and persist for more than a year.

“Thus contact with soil and water, rather than direct contact with cats, is a risk factor for infection,” Gilbert and colleagues write.

It may also be important to advise women to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables and to avoid soil contact, working with animals, or drinking unpasteurized milk, the researchers add, but not if these warnings detract from the main message of avoiding undercooked meats.

“Avoidance of infected meat could reduce the risk of infection during pregnancy by between 30% and 63%,” the authors conclude.

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