CHICAGO, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Researchers are recommending women and newborns undergo blood tests for Toxoplasma gondii, an infection that could kill children.
University of Chicago researchers said routine testing is necessary since half of the mothers show no symptoms of the infection picked up through eating undercooked and infected meat, unwashed fruits and vegetables, or contact with cat feces.
The researchers, reporting in the February issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said pregnant mothers can pass on the infection to their unborn children.
"We have medicines that can help if we catch the infection and improve outcomes if we detect the infection early," said study co-author Rima McLeod of the University of Chicago's Toxoplasmosis Center.
France and Austria reduced their infection rates by 50 percent through education about toxoplasmosis, but researchers said blood tests should be taken during each month of pregnancy in the U.S. to better identify such infections and treat them early.
More than 60 million Americans carry the T. gondii parasite, but few have symptoms, researchers said.
