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Living > Public Health, Safety

Listeriosis and Toxoplasmosis: What Pregnant Women Need to Know

Women have highly increased susceptibility to foodborne illnesses during pregnancy, and the unborn baby shares the risk. Listeriosis and Toxoplasmosis are two foodborne illnesses that are of particular concern during pregnancy.

Listeriosis
Listeria monocytogenes (commonly called Listeria) is a type of bacterium often found in food and elsewhere in nature. It can cause a rare but serious disease called listeriosis, especially among pregnant women, the elderly or individuals with a weakened immune system. In serious cases, it can lead to brain infection and even death.

Unlike most bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes can survive and sometimes grow on foods being stored in the refrigerator. Moreover, foods contaminated with this bacterium will look, smell, and taste normal.

Listeria is more likely to cause death than other bacteria that cause food poisoning. In fact, 20 to 30 per cent of foodborne listeriosis infections in high-risk individuals may be fatal. However, it should be noted that listeriosis is a relatively rare disease in Canada.

Many people may be carriers of Listeria, but few will actually develop listeriosis. Those who do will likely become ill from eating food contaminated with the bacteria, often seen as an outbreak of what people would call "food poisoning." Symptoms may start suddenly and include:

  • vomiting;
  • nausea;
  • cramps;
  • diarrhea;
  • severe headache;
  • constipation;
  • persistent fever.

In some instances, these symptoms may be followed by meningitis encephalitis (an infection of the brain or its surrounding tissues) and/or septicemia (blood poisoning), either of which can result in death.

The mild form of foodborne listeriosis usually begins about one day after eating heavily contaminated food. For the more serious form of the disease, the incubation period is generally much longer - up to 90 days after exposure.

Hormonal changes during pregnancy have an effect on the mother's immune system that lead to an increased susceptibility to listeriosis in the mother. Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults. Listeriosis can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta even if the mother is not showing signs of illness. If a pregnant woman develops listeriosis during the first three months of her pregnancy, she may miscarry. Up to two weeks before a miscarriage, pregnant women may experience a mild flu-like illness with chills, fatigue, headache as well as muscular and joint pain. Listeriosis later on in the pregnancy can result in a stillbirth or the birth of an acutely-ill child.

Pregnant women are, therefore, recommended to avoid the following foods due to their increased susceptibility to Listeriosis:

  • Hot Dogs, especially eaten right from the package (minimize risk by cooking until steaming hot).
  • Non-dried deli meats (dried and salted deli meats such as salami and pepperoni are safer alternatives, heating deli- meats until steaming hot will reduce risk).
  • Unpasteurized soft and semi soft chesses such as feta, Brie, Camembert and blue cheese (choose cheeses made from pasteurized milk instead).
  • Refrigerated pate and meat spreads.
  • Refrigerated smoked seafood and fish (choose canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood and fish).
  • Raw or undercooked meat, poultry and fish (be sure to cook thoroughly to reduce risk).

Health Canada recently published an updated Fact Sheet on Listeria and Food Safety. Please visit: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/listeria_e.html

Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite transmitted to humans by consumption of raw meat or other raw foods such as fruit and vegetables. Cat litter is also a source of transmission to humans as cats are a common host of the parasite. Toxoplasmosis is often asymptomatic but can cause symptoms similar to Listeriosis.

Infants born with congenital toxoplasmosis may develop permanent symptoms or conditions such as eye, liver or brain diseases. Early diagnosis and treatment in pregnancy is important to reduce severity of infant infection.

The following guidelines can help to reduce toxoplasmosis in pregnancy:

  • Cook all meats and poultry thoroughly before eating.
  • After handling and preparing raw meat and poultry, wash your hands and sanitize all utensils and work surfaces with a mild bleach solution (5ml (1tsp.) bleach per 750ml (3 cups) water.
  • Avoid handling cats and cat litter.
  • Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly.

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