Toxoplasmosis

Meats, especially lamb, pork, and venison, should be thoroughly cooked (temperature above 150°F/66°C). Freezing meat to at least -4°F/-20°C is also effective, although most home freezers do not reach this low temperature. 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. Keep cats indoors, do not allow them to hunt, and do not feed them raw or undercooked meat.[25]Department of Health and Human Services, Panel on Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents. Guidelines for the prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in adults and adolescents with HIV: recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. May 2024 [internet publication]. https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/sites/default/files/guidelines/documents/adult-adolescent-oi/guidelines-adult-adolescent-oi.pdf [31]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 counseled 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 feces.