Toxo Can Really Killed Us ?

Hi all, I finally can drag myself to be here again, been so busy at work lately :p but here I am now :D This time I'd like to discuss about Toxoplasmosis..Yes! That infection we used to shorten its word as Toxo. Based on the article at http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/parasitic/toxoplasmosis.html, this infection is caused by a microscopic parasite that can live inside the cells of humans and animals, especially cats and farm animals. Cats! arghhhh..that's the most living animal I really loved! I've been live with them since I was born lol, 'coz Mom loves them too. I was surrounded by 11 cats when I was a kid, Mom pets them very well. I don't know how dull my life would be without having them around me.. I've been observing and learning about Toxo since I realized it would be dangerous for a woman's pregnancy, for their baby. Just a slight memory..I remember that we could get infected by this Toxo if we feed our cat with a raw meet or raw fish or anything raw meals. And it would affect us through their cute poop! lol yeah..Specially if it's a direct contact, I mean you know if you touch it lol which I can be assured of you guys won't lol.. Now I shall straight to my main story.. Just a few days ago, I got a sad news on My Facebook that one of my friend have died..Innalillahi wa innaillaihi rooji'un..May Allah forgive him..I was searching for information what caused his death, was it an illness or what ? And yep, my sister got it from his ( this guy ) sister. It was because of Toxoplasmosis! Uffff.......I was surprised! Can Toxoplasmosis killed us ? So what do you think, my reader friends ? Let us share knowledge cat people =D I'm looking forward to hear from you guys.. Best Regard, shalli p.s : And to provide you a better details about this infection, you can go to this link, or just read some of them below :

You might know about the infection toxoplasmosis in relation to avoiding it during pregnancy by taking precautions with certain foods and the cat's litter box. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventing (CDC), some 60 million people in the United States could have toxoplasmosis. Many don't even know it because it can cause an infection with no symptoms or ones that are common to other illnesses.

This infection is caused by a microscopic parasite that can live inside the cells of humans and animals, especially cats and farm animals.

How It Spreads

People can catch toxoplasmosis from:

• touching or coming into contact with infected cat feces (cats get the infection from eating infected rodents, birds, or other small animals)
• eating raw or undercooked meat that's contaminated
• eating uncooked, unwashed fruits or vegetables that have been contaminated by manure
• being born with it (a woman who gets a toxoplasmosis infection while pregnant may pass the parasite on to her unborn child through the bloodstream)

Although infection doesn't normally spread from person to person except through pregnancy, in rare instances toxoplasmosis can contaminate blood transfusions and organs donated for transplantation.

Signs and Symptoms

Toxoplasmosis passes from animals to humans, sometimes without causing any symptoms. When kids do have symptoms, they vary depending on the child's age and the immune system's response to the infection. (As with humans, infected cats often don't show any signs of a toxoplasmosis infection.)

Toxoplasmosis infections in people fall into three basic patterns:

1. congenital toxoplasmosis, in which a child becomes infected before birth
2. toxoplasmosis in otherwise healthy kids (with the same symptoms a pregnant woman may have)
3. toxoplasmosis in kids with weakened immune systems

Read more ( page 2-5 ) ... Relevant Articles :

• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/toxoplasmosis/article_em.htm
• http://catastrophicforgetting.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-do-bernicles-toxoplasmosis-and.html