Prevention
The aim of all medical intervention is the prevention of Congenital Toxoplasmosis.
Austria has a long tradition in screening programs during pregnancy. It was the first country to establish a nation-wide screening-program in the year 1975.
Epidemiology
The prevalence of Toxoplasmosis varies widely. That depends probably
on
climate (how long the parasite stays alive on vegetable, ...),
habits (eating raw or undercooked meat, deep-freezing meat, ...),
how agriculture is performed, ..
Out of the resulting prevalence rate I explain 3 possibilities:
1. In a country where the disease hardly exists. Very few people have been infected, that means, that very few people have antibodies in their blood. That may be about 1 - 5 %. Almost all women are unprotected during pregnancy (and "in danger"), but in this country it is very unlikely to get in contact with the parasite, so "Congenital Toxoplasmosis" is very seldom. The cost of serological screening might be much higher than its benefits. That is true for many parts of the USA
2. A county where it is very likely to be infected
(some southern countries; ...)
It is very easy to acquire infection, but almost every women
is protected (because she had been infected during childhood),
so "Congenital Toxoplasmosis" is very seldom.
3. Countries with a situation in between.
About the half of the women have been infected before pregnancy
(they are protected), the other half is "in danger".
In this county it is not so unlikely, that You can catch the
parasite. That is the situation in central Europe.
In this situation a program for systematically applied screening
seems to be cost-saving (which is the main point for health-politics)
