Epidemiological risk of toxocarosis in humans and animals in Iași County

Abstract

The increasing number of dogs is a determining factor in the occurrence of toxocarosis in humans, as they are the source of environmental contamination with Toxocara sp. eggs. During a single year, 2018-2019, the number of stray dogs increased from 0.068 to 0.0709 per capita. Contamination of dogs with Toxocara canis in the conditions of our country has increased in recent years from 21.4% to 50.2% and is identified as the most common parasitosis in these animals. For the study of Tococara spp. infection in dogs, the period 2017-2020 was considered, representing cases present at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iasi. Thus, more than 75% of infections are recorded in young dogs under one year old, while 89% of them are males. The study on the prevalence of Toxocara canis cases at the Animal shelters in Tomești showed a prevalence of Toxocara sp. of 60% of the total samples analysed; the study on toxocarosis in humans was carried out during 2020, the information being provided by the Praxis medical tests laboratory. Result on the presence of specific IgG antibodies to Toxocara canis/cati. It included a group of 95 cases during one year, of which 3, namely 3.25% were under 3 years old and 14.8% were over 35 years old. Of the total samples, only 2 were positive in the male gender, which represents 2.1% of the total samples. Fifteen cases were positive in females, representing 15.8% of all samples analysed. Considering that we are talking about a parasite specific to dogs, the presence of such a large number of cases during a single year reveals a very high load of Toxocara eggs in the environment, which raises an alarm about the distribution of this parasite in nature and the high risk of human contamination.