Toxoplasmosis anxiety

[amateurcynic]

Hoping somebody can talk me down from my current state of panic! I'm 9w + 2 days pregnant and freaking out because I forgot and ate a sandwich containing salami a few days ago. It was heated but from what I've read it wouldn't have been for long enough to kill the toxoplasmosis parasite. I think I've read everything on the Internet now so I know the risk is small but I just feel so terrified of what I might have done. I have a GP appointment tomorrow so going to ask for a blood test but was hoping for any words of wisdom in the meantime?

[PastysPrincess]

Dont worry, it’s a myth;

“No risk of transmission of the disease, even to children and pregnant women, can derive from the consumption of cooked meat, cooked or salted-fermented salami and ham.”
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11424801/

[minipie]

Cured meats changed status while I was pregnant from "unsafe" to "safe" (according to NHS advice site). I ate loads.

I see the NHS now says "be cautious" ie not "avoid" -basically there is a teeny tiny risk and it's up to you.

I really really wouldn't worry.

[DeadDoorpost]

I find this out at the end of my pregnancy 😭😭😭 the foods I've not been eating and all this time I could have dammit. DH sat there and ate it all in front of me. I better go and make up for it...
Thanks for the info btw.

[AutumnLeavesandCandleLights]

Whenever I'm pregnant I devour salami, pepperoni etc - couldn't live without the italian BMT's from subway you're quite alright!

[KarateKitten]

I ate a whole pack of salami last week. I've eaten it on about 50 occasions in the last 4 pregnancies.

Hope that makes you feel less freaked out.

[Lozmatoz]

I’ve eaten a tonne of the stuff throughout. Sure it’ll be fine but no harm seeking advice from GP if you’re going anyway.

[Firefries]

You'll be fine!

[AdaHopper]

I'm from a European country where we eat a lot of raw meat. They screen everyone who is trying to conceive or just pregnant. When my DM was young, almost everyone had the antibodies so they could all eat what they liked. Now, very few people have anti-bodies. That also means that the risk of catching it is very low.... If you didn't catch it in the last 20-30 years, I piece of salami is unlikely to change that...

With DC2 I lived in the UK and insisted on a test (which was negative with DC1). Turns out I did have the antibodies. No idea when i caught it though. DC2 is fine :)

[mindutopia]

I've never avoided salami in any of my pregnancies. You're much more likely to get toxoplasmosis digging in your garden, to be fair.

[amateurcynic]

Thanks so much to everybody who replied. Reading other perspectives has really helped me escape from my head. The doctor this morning was unconcerned and said the only real risk is cats (which is not correct) but did refer me for a blood test. Thanks again for the reassurance from everybody.

[KarateKitten]

Glad you're feeling reassured.

Your doc referred you for a blood test? I hope to God not because you ate some salami! What a waste of NHS resources if so. But I'm going to assume he had concerns about your iron or something legitimate.