Can I get toxoplasmosis from over easy eggs?

[Tiger248]

I wasn't sure where to post this discussion, but should over easy eggs be a worry for passing toxoplasmosis to people?

There are a couple of cats that run around my property. My chickens arent let out often but im sure they've come into contact with the cats. I have a big fear of toxoplasmosis infection and I love over easy eggs.

Could I get toxoplasmosis from my hens over easy eggs or am I overthinking and worrying too much over nothing?

 

[jbj25]

There is a slim chance to get it that way, but it is not very likely. There are other ways with a far greater chance of being infected such as handling, or eating, undercooked meat, or cleaning a cats littler box.

It is also estimated that up to half the worlds population may be infected.

I wouldn't worry too much at all of having an over easy egg. If you already have it, or acquire it later, eating eggs is probably not the way you get it.

 

[Debbie292d]

Many of us, including ourselves, have cats for rodent control. I've never heard of anyone having concerns about their eggs or getting sick from them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's always a good idea to cook food to a proper temperature. You can easily look up what is a safe cooking method and temperature on the internet. If you don't have a food thermometer, I would suggest that you source one.

There's always a "Chance" that you can contract something from food that you eat.

There's plenty of information on the Net about Toxoplamosis, so do some reading to decided what risks or steps of precautions you wish to take. Here's a few articles to get you started on your research.
https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/toxoplasma-food-safety-moms-be
https://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/prevention/index.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13732415/#:~:text=Abstract,raw or undercooked infected eggs.

I asked Google Gemini (AI) about Toxoplasmosis in Over Easy Eggs, this is the result.

 

[Tiger248]

It's always a good idea to cook food to a proper temperature. You can easily look up what is a safe cooking method and temperature on the internet. If you don't have a food thermometer, I would suggest that you source one.

There's always a "Chance" that you can contract something from food that you eat.

There's plenty of information on the Net about Toxoplamosis, so do some reading to decided what risks or steps of precautions you wish to take. Here's a few articles to get you started on your research.
https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/toxoplasma-food-safety-moms-be
https://www.cdc.gov/toxoplasmosis/prevention/index.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13732415/#:~:text=Abstract,raw or undercooked infected eggs.

I asked Google Gemini (AI) about Toxoplasmosis in Over Easy Eggs, this is the result.
View attachment 4263601

Freaks me out a bit honestly. Do grocery store eggs have this same chance? Ive been researching for hours about this stuff and cant find much other than a nearly 70 year old article and not much of anything new. I sure hope my chickens eggs cant harm me with a runny yolk.

 

[NatJ]

https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.org/article/S1198-743X(14)62509-X/fulltext
This is from 2002
Title is "Toxoplasma gondii: transmission, diagnosis and prevention"
Authors are D. Hill, J.P. Dubey

Two quotes:
"Infection in humans often results from ingestion of tissue cysts contained in undercooked meat"
"Raw hens' eggs, although an important source of Salmonella infection, are extremely unlikely to transmit T. gondii infection."

Further down, the concluding paragraph tells ways to avoid infection. They involve cooking raw meat, and avoiding cat poop, no mention of eggs at all. (Specific mentions of cat poop in litterboxes, gardens, children's sandboxes.)

 

[Tiger248]

https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.org/article/S1198-743X(14)62509-X/fulltext
This is from 2002
Title is "Toxoplasma gondii: transmission, diagnosis and prevention"
Authors are D. Hill, J.P. Dubey

Two quotes:
"Infection in humans often results from ingestion of tissue cysts contained in undercooked meat"
"Raw hens' eggs, although an important source of Salmonella infection, are extremely unlikely to transmit T. gondii infection."

Further down, the concluding paragraph tells ways to avoid infection. They involve cooking raw meat, and avoiding cat poop, no mention of eggs at all. (Specific mentions of cat poop in litterboxes, gardens, children's sandboxes.)

Thank you, eases my mind a lot. I was freaking out since I had made a dessert using egg yolks and I love an over easy egg.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Could I get toxoplasmosis from my hens over easy eggs or am I overthinking and worrying too much over nothing?

A piece of space junk could fall out of the sky and hit your house today. You may have a fender bender the next time you go to the grocery store. You may see some sunshine today. Many different things could happen but some are a lot more likely than others.

The bad consequences of seeing sunshine today are pretty darn small. The consequences of the other two are not zero but may not be that high. Most likely they won't be that bad but you could be really unlucky.

The possibility of that cat shedding the oocysts at any time are really low. The possibility of your chickens being infected and an oocyst fining its way into an egg are really low. Unless you or someone eating the eggs are immunocompromised or pregnant the consequences of eating that oocyst are pretty low even if it is present.

The possibility of someone being adversely affected is really low but it is not zero. I also enjoy easy over eggs. I will not stop eating them because of the threat of toxoplasmosis.