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| Aida Musyarrofah, SpOG a Lecturer drom Faculty of Medicine (Photo: Special) |
Maintaining good health is an important thing for a pregnant woman to do. Environmental cleanliness, nutritional intake, physical and spiritual health and support from people around are needed. In addition, a pregnant woman should be aware of the possibility of the virus, especially for pets like cats and dogs.
"Pets are cute. They can be our friends at home, but we must be careful, especially pregnant women. Be careful of getting toxoplasma parasites," said Aida Musyarrofah, SpOG, a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM).
Toxoplasmosis, or toxo, is an infectious disease caused by the parasite toxoplasma gondi, transmitted from cat faeces. Usually, this infection does not cause any severe symptoms to the mother. Only mild symptoms appear, such as fever, sore throat, fatigue and muscle pain.
On the other hand, for the baby, the virus can lead to inappropriate growth and development, disability in hearing and vision, early puberty, and problems in thinking or learning. In addition to expectant mothers, people with weak immune systems are also highly susceptible to this virus. "For pregnant women, toxoplasma will be very dangerous if infected in the first and second trimester," she said.
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Toxoplasma can be spread from various things. For example, the soil during gardening, polluted water and cat faeces eat carelessly. Toxo virus is a parasite that can only be spread from food that enters the human body, not through the air. Therefore, it is important to make a habit of washing your hands before eating as a preventive attempt.
"For pet owners, paying attention to their pets' food is important. Do not let pets eat raw and random food," added Aida.
Several things can be done if someone has been infected with toxo, such as giving special medicine to pregnant women. If the infection occurs in the process of childbirth and the baby is born with a disability, whether in terms of hearing, vision or abnormal growth and development, it can be treated and managed according to the symptoms of the disease.
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Finally, Aida said that it is important to maintain a pregnant woman's health and do regular check-ups until near delivery. Therefore, if the toxoplasma virus is detected during pregnancy, the treatment can be done immediately.
"For toxo, the medicine is already available, so if a pregnant woman is infected, she can immediately receive proper and quick treatment," concluded Dr. Aida. (rin/wil/put)
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