Abstract
Toxocarosis is one of the most prevalent human helminthosis caused by larvae of Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati, the most widely distributed nematode parasites of dogs and cats respectively. Soil is considered as the principal source of transmission of Toxocara infection to human beings. With increasing population of dogs and cats, soil contamination with ova or eggs of Toxocara can be detected in public and private locations of city backyards, playgrounds, streets, sand pits and so on, regardless of the season of the year. In this context the present study was carried out to estimate the extent of soil contamination with Toxocara eggs in public parks, playgrounds and few kennels situated in different parts of Chennai city. A total of 105 soil samples from 40 public places and 5 kennels were screened for the presence of parasitic eggs. Toxocara eggs were recovered from 5 soil samples indicating an overall prevalence rate of 4.75 %. Out of 80 samples collected from public places, three samples, one each from Mogappair, My lady park (Periamet) and Madras Veterinary College showed the presence of Toxocara spp. eggs indicating an overall prevalence of 3.75 per cent. Out of the 25 samples from 5 kennels, two samples one each from Tambaram and Thorappakkam kennels were positive for Toxocara eggs with prevalence of 8 per cent. Low prevalence of Toxocara eggs in soil samples of these areas can be attributed to the less population of pups, the carriers of adult worms and the active source of soil contamination. The progress made in ABC (animal birth control) programme carried out by both governmental and non-governmental organizations has contributed to reduction of birth rate in dogs and thereby reduced the chances of soil contamination with Toxocara eggs to a certain extent in Chennai city.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs12639-012-0217-x/MediaObjects/12639_2012_217_Fig1_HTML.gif)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abe N, Yasukawa A (1997) Prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs in sandpits of parks in Osaka city, Japan with notes on the prevention of eggs contamination by fence construction. J Vet Med Sci 59:79–80
Abo Shehada MN (1989) Prevalence of Toxocara ova in some school and public grounds in northern and central Jordan. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 83:73–75
Alonso JM, Stein M, Chamorro MC, Bojanich MV (2001) Contamination of soils with eggs of Toxocara in subtropical city in Argentina. J Helminthol 75:165–168
Angulo R, Aguila C, Guillen JL (1987) Contaminacion de suelos de parques publicos por Toxocara canis. Revista Iberica de Parasiyologia Boletin extraordinario 12:165–171
Avcioglu H, Balkaya I (2011) The relationship of public parks accessibility to dogs to the presence of Toxocara species ova in the soil. Vector borne zoonotic Dis 11:177–180
Avcioglu H, Burgu A (2008) Seasonal prevalence of Toxocara ova in soil samples from public parks in Ankara, Turkey. Vector borne zoonotic Dis 8:345–350
Ayaz E, Yaman M, Gul A (2003) Prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs in soil of public parks in Van, Turkey. Ind Vet J 80:574–576
Aydenizoz Ozkayhan M (2006) Soil contamination with ascarid eggs in playgrounds in Kirikkale, Turkey. J Helminthol 80:15–18
Biswas G, Bhattacharya AK, Sen GP (1986) Dog a source of human visceral larva migrans. Indian J Public Health 30:22
Carden SM, Meusemann R, Walker J, Stawell RJ, Mac Kinnon JR, Smith D, Stawell AM, Hall AJ (2003) Toxocara canis eggs presence in Melbourne parks and disease incidence in Victoria. Clin Exp Ophthalmol 31:143–146
Castillo D, Paradez C, Zanartu C, Castillo G, Mercado R, Munoz V, Schenone H (2000) Environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in public squares and parks from Santiago, Chile. Bol Chil Parasitol 55:86–91
Chiejna SN, Ekwe TO (1986) Canine toxocariosis and the associated environmental contamination of urban areas in eastern Nigeria. Vet Parasitol 22:157–161
Childs JE (1985) The prevalence of toxocara species ova in backyards and gardens of Baltimore, Maryland. Am J Public Health 75:1092–1094
Chorazy ML, Richardson DJ (2005) A survey of environmental contamination with ascarid ova in Willingford, Connecticut. Vector borne Zoon Dis 5:33–39
Coelho LMPS, Dini CY, Milman MHA, Oliveira SM (2001) Toxocara spp. eggs in public squares of Soracaba, Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Rev Inst Med S Paulo 43:189–191
Conde L, Muro A, Simon F (1989) Epidemiological studies on toxocariasis and visceral larva migrans in a zone of western Spain. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 83:615–620
D’Souza PE, Dhanalakshmi H, Jagannath MS (2002) Soil contamination with canine hookworm and roundworm ova in Bangalore. J Parasitic Dis 26:107–108
Das SS, Kumar D, Sreekrishnan R, Ganesan R (2009) Soil contamination of public places, play ground and residential area with ova of Toxocara. Indian J Vet Res 17(2):13–16
de Araujo FR, Crocci AJ, Rodrigues RG, Avalhaes J, Da S, Miyoshi MI, Salgado FP, da Silva MA, ML Pereira (1999) Contamination of public squares of Campo Grande, Mato grosso do Sul, Brazil with eggs of Toxocara and Ancylostoma in dog feces. Revista Da sociedade Brasilieira de medicina Tropical 32:581–583
Dumenigo B, Galvez D (1995) Soil contamination in Cuidad de La Habana province with Toxocara canis eggs. Rev Cubana Med Trop 47:178–180
Dunsmore JD, Thompson RCA, Bates IA (1984) Prevalence and survival of Toxocara canis eggs in the urban environment of Perth, Australia. Vet Parasitol 16:303–311
Duwel D (1984) The prevalence of Toxocara eggs in the sands in children playgrounds in Frankfurt. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 78:633–636
Fonrouge R, Guardis MV, Radman NE, Archelli SM (2000) Contaminacion de suelos con huevos de Toxocara sp. En plazas y parques publicos de La Plata, Buenos Aires Argentina. Bol Chil Parasitol 155:217–222
Franzco SMC, Franzco RM, Walker J et al,(2003) Toxocara canis egg presence in Melbourne parks and disease incidence in Victoria. Clin Exp Ophthal 31:143–146
Gawor J, Borecka A, Żarnowska H, Marczynska M, Dobosz S (2008) Environmental and personal risk factors for toxocariasis in children with diagnosed disease in urban and rural areas of central Poland. Vet Parasitol 155:217–222
Giacometti A, Cirioni O, Fortuna M, Osimani P, Antonicelli L, Del Prete MS, Riva A, D’Errico MM, Petrelli E, Scalise G (2000) Environmental and serological evidence for the presence of toxocariasis in the urban area of Ancona, Italy. Eur J Epidemiol 16:1023–1026
Gillespie SH, Pereira M, Ramsay A (1991) The prevalence of Toxocara canis ova in soil samples from parks and gardens in the London area. Public Health 105:335–339
Gracia LT, Serrano AB, Valencia GL, Sosa ART, Henry MR, Ramirez EQ (2007) Frequency of Toxocara canis eggs in public parks of the urban area of Mexicali, B.C. Mexico J Ani Vet Adv 6:430–434
Grover R, Bhatti G, Aggarwal A, Malla N (2000) Isolation of Toxocara eggs in and around Chandigarh, India. J Parastic Dis 24:57–59
Gualazzi DA, Embil JA, Pereira LH (1986) Prevalence of helminth ova in recreational areas of Peninsular Halifax, Nova Scotia. Can J Public Health 77:145–171
Guclu F, Aydenizoz M (1998) Cocuk parklarindaki kumlarin kopek ve kedi helminthi yumurtalari ile kontaminasyonunun tesbiti. T parazitol Derg 23:24–27
Guimaraes AM, Alves EG, Rezende GF (2005) Toxocara sp eggs and Ancylostoma sp. Larva in public parks. Brazil Revista de Saude Publica 39:293–295
Gunaseelan L, Ramdass P, Raghavan N (1985) Epidemiological studies on Toxocara canis infection in children in Madras city. Cheiron 14:326
Gurel FS, Ertug S, Okyay P (2005) Aydin il merkezindeki parklarda Toxocara spp yumurta gorulme sikliginin aras tirilmasi. T Parazitol Derg 29:177–179
Habluetzel A, Traldi G, Ruggieri S, Attili Ar, Scuppa P, Marchetti R, Menghini G, Esposito F (2003) An estimation of Toxocara canis prevalence in dogs, environmental egg contamination and risk of human infection in Marche region of Italy. Vet Parasitol 2561:1–11
Holland CV, Smith HV (2006) Toxocara: The enigmatic Parasite. CABI Publishing Cambridge, USA
Holland CV, Connor P, Taylor MR, Hughes G, Girdwood RW, Smith H (1991) Families, parks, gardens and toxocariasis Scandinavian. J Infect Dis 23:225–231
Jansen J, van Knapen F, Schreurs M, van Wijngaarden T (1993) Toxocara ova in parks and sandboxes in the city of Utrecht. Tijdschr Diergeneeskd 118:611–614
Jarosz W (2001) Soil contamination with Toxocara spp. Eggs in Elblag area. Wiadomosci Parazytologiczne 47:143–149
Jarosz W, Mizgajska-Wiktor H, Kirwan Z, Konarsk J, Rychlick W, Wawrzyniak G (2010) Developmental age, physical fitness and Toxocara seroprevalence amongst lower: secondary students living in rural areas contaminated with Toxocara eggs. Parasitology 137:53–63
Kaplan K, Kuk S, Kalkan A (2002) Elazigdaki cocuk parklari ve oyun sahalarinda Toxocara spp. yumurta gorulme sikliginin arastirilmasi. Firat Uni Sag Bil Derg 16: 277–279
Karen E, Ludlam BS, Platt TR (1989) The relationship of park maintenance and accessibility to dogs to the presence of Toxocara spp. ova in the soil. Am J Public Health 79:633–634
Kumar BV, Hafeez M (1998) A study on the prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs at public places in Andhra Pradesh. J Commun Dis 30:197–198
Loh AG, Israf DA (1998) Tests on the centrifugal floatation technique and its use in estimating the prevalence of Toxocara in soil samples from urban and suburban areas of Malaysia. J Helminthol 72:39–42
Ludlam KE, Platt TR (1989) The relationship of park maintenance and accessibility to dogs to the presence of Toxocara spp. ova in the soil. Am J Public Health 79:633–634
Mahdi NK, Ali HA (1993) Toxocara eggs in soil of public places and schools in Basrah, Iraq. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 87:201–205
Maikai BV, Umoh JU, Ajanusi OJ, Ajogi I (2008) Public health implications of soil contaminated with helminth eggs in the metropolis of Kaduna, Nigeria. J Helminthol 82:113–118
Mandarino- Pereira A, de Souza FS, Lopes CWG, Pereira MJS (2010) Prevalence of parasites in soil and dog faeces according to diagnostic tests. Vet Parasitol 170:176–181
Masnik E (2000) Relationships between the prevalence of Toxocara eggs in dogs’ faeces and soil. Wiad Parazytol 46:239–244
Matsuo J, Nakashio S (2005) Prevalence of faecal contamination in sandpits in public parks in Sapporo city, Japan. Japan Vet Parasitol 128:115–119
Mizgajska H (1997) The role of some environmental factors in contamination of soil with Toxocara spp. and other geohelminth eggs. Parasitol Int 46:67–72
Mizgajska H (1999) Biological infection of soil on flooded areas of Wroclaw city. Wiad Parazytol 45:89–93
Mizgajska H (2000) Soil contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in Krakow area and two nearby villages. Wiad Parazytol 46:105–110
Motazedian H, Mehrabani D, Tabatabaee SH, Pakniat A, Tavalali (2006) Prevalence of helminth ova in soil samples from public places in Shiraz..East Mediterr Health J 12(5):562–565
Nunes et al (2000) Presence of larva migrans in sand boxes of public elementary School, Aracatuba, Brazil. Revista de Publica 34:656–658
O’Lorcain P (1994) Prevalence of Toxocara canis ova in public play grounds in the Dublin area of Ireland. J Helminthol 68:239–243
Oge H, Oge S (2000) Quantitative comparison of various methods for detecting eggs of Toxocara canis in samples of sand. Vet Parasitol 92:75–79
Oteifa NM, Moustafa MA (1997) The potential risk of contracting toxocariasis in Heliopolis district, Cairo Egypt. J Egypt Soc Parasitol 27:197–203
Polo Terán LJ, Cortés Vecino JA, Villamil Jiménez LC, Prieto E (2007) Zoonotic nematode contamination in recreational areas of Suba Bogotá. Rev Salud Publica (Bogota) 9(4):550–557
Queiroz ML, Simonsen M, Paschoalotti MA, Chieffi PP (2006) Frequency of soil contamination by Toxocara canis eggs in the south region of São Paulo municipality (SP, Brazil) in a 18-month period. Rev Inst Med trop S Paulo 48:317–319
Rai SK, Uga S, Ono K, Rai R, Matsumura T (2000) Contamination of soil with helminth parasites in Nepal. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 31:388–393
Rokicki J, Kucharska AP, Dzido J, Karczewska D(2007) Contamination of playgrounds in Gdańsk city with parasite eggs. Wiad Parazytol 53(3):227–30
Ruiz de Ybanez MR, Garijo MM, Alonso FD (2001) Prevalence and viability of eggs of Toxocara spp. and Toxascaris leonina in public parks in Eastern Spain. J Helminthol 75:169–173
Santarem VA, Sartor IF, Bergamo FM (1998) Contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks and squares in Botucatu, sao Paulo, Brazil. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop 31:529–532
Santarém VA, Franco EC, Kozuki FT, Fini D, Prestes-Carneiro LE (2008) Enviromental contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs in a rural settlement in Brazil Rev Inst Med Trop S Paulo, 50: 279–281
Schottler G (1997) Incidence of Toxocara ova in beach sand of Warnemunde in 1997. Gesundheitswesen 60:766–767
Shimizu T (1993) Prevalence of Toxocara eggs in sandpits in Tokushima city and its outskirts. J Vet Med Sci 55:807–811
Simon F, Conde L (1987) Datos epidemiologicos sobre la toxocariosis y larva emigrante visceral en la provincial de Salamanca. V Congreso Nacional de Parasitologia, Salamanca, pp 397–398
Singh H, Bali HS, Kaur A (1997) Prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs in the soil of public and private places in Ludhiana and Kellon area of Punjab, India. Epidemiol santé Anim :31–32
Singh LA, Das SC, Baruah Indra (2004) Observations on the soil contamination with zoonotic canine gastro intestinal parasites in selected rural areas of Tezpur, Assam. India J Parasitic Dis 28:121–123
Snow KR, Ball SJ, Bewick JA (1987) Prevalence of Toxocara species eggs in the soil of five east London parks. Vet rec 120:66–67
Surgan M, Colgan KM, Kennet S, Paffman J (1980) A survey of canine toxocariasis and Toxocaral soil contamination in Essex County, New Jersey. Am J of Public Health 70:1207–1208
Toparlak M, Gargili A, Tuzer E et al (2002) Contamination of children playground sandpits with Toxocara eggs in Istanbul, Turkey. Tr J Vet Anim Sci 26:317–320
Uga S (1993) Prevalence of Toxocara eggs and number of faecal deposits from dogs and cats in sandpits of public parks in Japan. J Helminthol 67:78–82
Uga S, Ono K, Kataoka N, Safriah A, Tantlur IS, Dachlan YP, Ranuh IG (1995) Contamination of soil with parasitic eggs in Surabaya, Indonesia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 26:730–734
Uga S, Oikawa H, Lee CC, Amin babjee SM, Rai SK (1996) Contamination of soil with parasite eggs and oocysts in and around Kualalumpur, Malaysia. Japanese J Trop Med and Hyg 24:125–127
Uga S, Wandee N, Virasakdi C (1997) Contamination of soil with parasite eggs and oocysts in southern Thailand. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public health. 24: 125-127
Valkounova J (1982) Parasitological investigation of children’s sand boxes and dog faeces from public areas in old housing districts of Prague. Folia Parasitol 29:25–32
Vasquez O, Ruiz A, Martinez I, Merlin PN, Tay J, Perez A (1996) Soil contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks and home gardens from Mexico city. Boletin Chileno Parasitologico 51:54–58
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Dean, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai-600007 for providing necessary facilities. The research was funded by Tamil Nadu state council for science and technology under the project Detection of public health impact of Toxocara ova in Chennai” (Code No. MS. 01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thomas, D., Jeyathilakan, N. Detection of Toxocara eggs in contaminated soil from various public places of Chennai city and detailed correlation with literature. J Parasit Dis 38, 174–180 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-012-0217-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-012-0217-x