Health department targets pregnant women for toxoplasmosis screening

Nunavut’s health department is taking a preventive approach to helping pregnant women avoid toxoplasmosis infections, Health Minister John Main said Wednesday.

The Health Department started a territory-wide toxoplasmosis screening program for pregnant women in July aimed at early detection and prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis, Main said in the legislative assembly.

Since July, the department has screened approximately 150 women but hasn’t detected any infections, a department spokesperson said in an email Thursday.

Main said a routine blood test will now be included in prenatal care to enable early detection of toxoplasmosis while avoiding harm to mothers and their unborn children.

“This program is not only a screening program, but also a harm-reduction program,” Main said.

“By quickly identifying at-risk pregnancies, we can implement timely treatments to prevent the toxoplasma parasite from affecting unborn babies.”

Main described toxoplasma as a parasite found in regions around the world and that can be found in some Inuit country foods. It can be passed to people who eat under-cooked meat.

In 2019, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported the parasite has been found in Arctic mammals such as barren-ground caribou and muskox and birds such as the Lesser snow goose and Ross’s goose.

Main said cases of infection are generally mild but “infection during pregnancy can lead to serious disabilities in unborn babies, and in some cases miscarriage or stillbirth.”

The health department recommends all pregnant woman ensure meat and seafood is fully cooked prior to consumption, to eliminate the risk of infection.

The program will also enable the department to collect data on the extent of the problem in the territory over time, so that resources can be used to fight it more effectively.