Toxoplasmosis

Meats, especially lamb, beef, pork, and venison, should be thoroughly cooked (temperature above 74°C [165°F], or until the meat is no longer pink inside). Freezing meat to at least -20°C/-4°F is also effective, although most home freezers do not reach this low temperature. Raw shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, should be avoided. Fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before being eaten raw. Hands should be washed thoroughly after gardening or other contact with soil. Avoid changing cat litter boxes; if unavoidable, hands should be thoroughly washed after changing litter. Cat owners with HIV whose CD4 counts are <200 cells/microlitre and who are seronegative are advised to avoid direct contact with cat faeces.[24]National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV Medicine Association, and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Panel on Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV. Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in adults and adolescents with HIV: toxoplasmosis. Dec 2024 [internet publication]. https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/hiv-clinical-guidelines-adult-and-adolescent-opportunistic-infections/introduction [30]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Toxoplasmosis: ​preventing toxoplasmosis. Jan 2024 [internet publication]. https://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/prevention/index.html

All patients with symptomatic disease who are immunocompromised should follow the 6 or more weeks of initial therapy with secondary prophylaxis/suppressive therapy.

All seronegative patients who are immunocompromised and pregnant women should be counselled on avoidance of exposure to contaminated food by thorough washing of fruits and vegetables, cooking meat to a high temperature, and avoidance of exposure to infected cats by not handling their faeces.