Frequency of Toxocara.spp eggs in the soil of public places in Ardabil city, Iran

Introduction: Toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonosis with world wild distribution. It is caused by the ascarids of dogs (Toxocara canis) and cats (Toxocara cati). The soil contamination with eggs of these parasites can important etiological factor in Toxocara infection of people. Human become an incidental host for Toxocara when they ingest the eggs of the parasite, chiefly by hand-to-mouth contact, from exposure to areas polluted with Toxocara eggs, such as contaminated soil in public places. Human toxocariasis is presented as visceral larva migrans (VLM), ocular larva migrans (OLM) and covert toxocariasis. There is no previous report of Toxocara contamination in the soil samples from the public areas in Ardabil city. For this reason our study has been carried out to examine the frequency of Toxocara Spp eggs in public places in Ardabil city. Method: During March 2013 to March 2014, 200 soil samples were collected from various sites in Ardabil city by simple random selection. In each collection approximately 100gr was collected from 3cm ground depth. Isolation of Toxocara spp eggs was carried out for each sample by sodium nitrate flotation followed by microscopy. Results: 14 (7%) of 200 soil samples contained Toxocara spp eggs. Ascaris spp eggs was found in 8 samples (4%), Trichocephal spp eggs in 5 (2/5%), Enterobius eggs in 1 (0/5%), Dicrocoelium spp eggs in 1 (0/5%), Nematode larvae in 4 (2%) and Toxoascarise spp eggs was found in 2 of the samples (1%). Conclusion: The present investigation clearly shows that public places have been contaminated with Toxocara spp eggs in Ardabil city. These findings may inform local control programs against Toxocariasis in this city