The new PMC design is here! Learn more about navigating our updated article layout. The PMC legacy view will also be available for a limited time. Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. To evaluate the frequency of anti- Toxocara spp. IgG antibodies. Bivariate analysis followed by logistic regression was performed to evaluate the potential risk factors associated to seropositivity. The overall prevalence observed in this study was 8. The results of this study reinforce the necessity in promoting preventive public health measures, even for healthy adult individual, particularly those related to the deworming of pets to avoid the soil contamination, and hygiene education of the population.
Toxocariasis is a widespread zoonosis caused by the ascarid nematodes Toxocara canis T. Human toxocariasis is a soil-transmitted helminthic infection. Toxocara eggs are released into the environment with the faeces of parasitised pets, and these eggs may be embryonate and accidentally be ingested by humans, particularly children who often play with contaminated soil. Many authors have reported different rates of Toxocara infections in both children and adults in different countries.
Although human toxocariasis is highly prevalent in disadvantaged countries, some authors have focused on the global importance of this zoonosis, which remains underestimated and neglected, even in developed countries [2]. The clinical spectrum of human toxocariasis is broad and ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe organ injury, including hepatic, pulmonary, ophthalmic and neurological disturbances.
Some risk factors have been associated with toxocariasis, including gender, age, socioeconomic status, contact with pets, and ingestion of raw meat. Nevertheless, the results of different studies on the toxocariasis risk factors have been largely inconsistent until now [3]. Blood donors have been considered as a model to study the seroprevalence of infectious diseases in the healthy adult population [4] โ [6].
The prevalence of anti- Toxocara spp. While in Oceania, the seroprevalence varied from 0. In South America, the rates varied from In Brazil, there is a reported rate of However, little is known about the risk factors for toxocariasis in voluntary blood donors.
