Veterinarian Osman Buğra Uyan said that toxoplasma in cats is an important disease and can cause infection in the body and said, “Toxoplasma is a disease that women who want to have children should pay attention to.”
Stating that there are fatal diseases in cats and that some parasites can cause cysts in vital organs, Veterinarian Osman Buğra Uyan said, “Rabies is one of the leading fatal diseases in cats and it is also a zoonotic disease. Apart from this, diseases called herpesvirus, calicivirus and panleukopenia can generally be considered fatal in cats. There is also a disease called FIP, which is very common. We can count these in the fatal class. There are vaccines for herpesvirus, calicivirus and panleukopenia. These vaccines are currently licensed and used in Turkey, but unfortunately there is no vaccine for FIP. Since FIP is a disease that can be seen in vaccinated animals, I can say that it is currently incurable. In terms of diseases that can be transmitted from cats to humans, I can count rabies at first, and parasitic infections can be seen very often. There is a type of parasite called echinococcus. When people ingest the eggs that these cats and dogs excrete with their feces, they can cause cystic structures. The onset of the disease can take a very long time. It can cause cysts in the lungs and other vital organs, especially the liver, in the later stages.”
“It can cause miscarriage when it reaches the womb”
Stating that the toxoplasma parasite is a disease that should be considered especially for women who want to have children, Uyan said, “Apart from that, there is an important disease we call toxoplasma. Toxoplasma is a disease that especially women who want to have children should pay attention to. Infection starts in the body when cats excrete the parasites living in their intestines and eggs with feces and when the parasite is ingested orally while cleaning the cat litter or in contact with feces in playgrounds. Especially if it infects the baby in the womb, it can cause miscarriage. It can prevent pregnancy. In this way, I can say it is a dangerous disease.”
Stating that parasite vaccines are actually not vaccines but treatment, Uyan said, “There are vaccines applied to cats. It is popularly known as parasite vaccine, but it is actually not a vaccine, it is a treatment. In our clinic, we recommend them to be done routinely every 2 months to our patient owners. The use of such drugs prevents the reproduction of adult parasites in animals, that is, parasites that are suitable for laying eggs. In this way, we both protect cats and protect people from diseases in this way. First of all, I recommend that if you have cats at home, if you are very close to stray animals outside, these animals should definitely be taken to a veterinary clinic and if you are planning to have children, they can have their tests done. There are ready-made test kits and they can be found in every clinic. In about 10 minutes, they can get preliminary information about whether they have toxoplasmosis or not. They can get information about whether their animals are sick or not or whether they carry this parasite.”
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