Many pregnant families often ask in the clinic if they can still have a dog or cat when they are pregnant. What about the dogs and cats in the house, will they have parasites, will they cause a miscarriage, do I need to give them to someone else? We have vaccinated and dewormed our dogs and cats before, is it safe? This is no longer just a scientific question, or a family conflict involving two generations, very important, so it is necessary to make some clarifications here. 1. Toxoplasma gondii: pregnant women are more likely to be infected Toxoplasma gondii is parasitic in nucleated cells, so it is invisible to the naked eye, but it is extremely destructive. Toxoplasma gondii has several unique characteristics that need to be noted. (1) Toxoplasma gondii is not a “picky eater” and can infect almost anyone; (2) It is a “flexible” pest that rides on cells and can reach all parts of the body with the flow of blood, destroying the brain, heart, and fundus of the eyes, causing the immune system to decline and making people susceptible to various diseases; (3) Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that is invisible to the naked eye. (3) Toxoplasma gondii likes to bully the weak and the immunity of pregnant women is low, so they are twice as likely to be infected as non-pregnant women. Nearly half of pregnant women infected with Toxoplasma gondii will transmit it to their fetus through the placenta, causing miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, malformation and congenital infection in newborns; (4) Toxoplasma gondii also likes all warm-blooded animals such as cows, sheep, cats, dogs, etc., which is simply a haven for Toxoplasma gondii to branch out. 2. The parasitic mode of Toxoplasma gondii is very important. It has been debated whether Toxoplasma gondii can be transmitted to pregnant women through cats and dogs, but the key is to figure out its parasitic mode, so you will not be afraid. Toxoplasma gondii is parasitic in two ways, one is in the intermediate host and one is in the end host. End host: It spreads eggs. Felines are the intermediate hosts of Toxoplasma gondii and are also the only end hosts. When a cat (the end host) is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite will continue to multiply in its body and produce oocysts, which you can interpret as eggs, and the cat may continuously discharge oocysts when it poops, which can be harmful to the human body. Therefore, it is very important to keep away from cat and cat feces during pregnancy. Intermediate hosts:No egg transmission And dogs are only intermediate hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. When a dog is infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a new individual is formed directly from the mother of Toxoplasma gondii, and no egg sacs are produced in the dog’s body or transmitted to the outside world through poop. But dogs, pigs, sheep …… These intermediate hosts may also have Toxoplasma gondii encysts in their bodies and blood, and are also contagious. Therefore, during the preparation and pregnancy eat meat must be cooked, this is also very important. 3, do a good job of prevention is the most important, need to respect but far away There is no reliable vaccine to prevent toxoplasmosis, so want to avoid infection by vaccination is not possible, can only respect but far away. (1) Do not touch anything contaminated by cat feces; (2) Try not to jerk off cats and dogs during pregnancy and wash hands regularly; (3) Deworm and clean cats and dogs regularly; (4) Eat cooked and processed meat; (5) Wash hands after handling raw meat and clean cookware thoroughly; (6) Wash fruits and vegetables before eating; (7) Avoid contamination of food by flies and cockroaches; (8) Wear gloves for gardening work and wash hands thoroughly after work (8) Wear gloves for gardening and wash your hands thoroughly after work. 4, good pre-conception screening is very necessary If you are tired of cats and dogs every day, then 3-6 months before pregnancy, you can go to check TORCH (eugenics five / teratogenic five), which includes toxoplasma testing. In general: IgG positive: means you have been infected with Toxoplasma gondii. IgG negative, IgM positive: may be an early acute infection, or may be a false positive. IgG and IgM both positive: Possible acute infection. So it is possible to keep a pet when you are pregnant, but do it scientifically and be sure to pay attention to the above precautions, especially the need to deworm cats and dogs regularly, not to feed raw meat, and also to stay away from cat and cat feces.