Contamination of the soil of public parks to Toxocara spp. eggs and its relation to toxocariasis in man in Tabriz (Iran)

Toxocariasis is a zoonotic disease caused by larvae of Toxocara cati and Toxocara canis. Human can be infected by ingestion of eggs of these parasites resulting in Visceral Larval Migrant Syndrome (VLMS). Human infection is occurring by the eggs of helminthes shed in faces of infected animals through the soil of public parks. In the present study, 540 soil samples were taken from 60 public parks in Tabriz (Northwest of Iran). Two hundred seventy samples were taken from 30 parks during warm seasons and 270 samples were taken from another 30 parks during the cold seasons of the year. Samples were tested by the Clayton–lane method. From a total of 60 examined parks, 46 parks (76.66%) were contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs and among 540 soil samples, 186 (34.44%) cases were contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs. The level of contamination during cold the seasons were significantly higher than the warm seasons (P<0.01) and the level of contamination around the trashes were higher than other areas in the parks, though the differences were not statistically significant. As the soil of public parks are highly contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs, the people particularly children are exposed to the high risk of contaminattion. To prevent contamination of public areas by larval migrant agent, measures should be taken to control the stray dogs and cats.