Contamination of soil with Toxocara eggs in urban (Prague) and rural areas in the Czech Republic

• Published in: Veterinary parasitology 2007-03, Vol.144 (1), p.81-86
• Main Authors: Dubná, S., Langrová, I., Jankovská, I., Vadlejch, J., Pekár, S., Nápravník, J., Fechtner, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal parasitic nematodes; Animals; backyard soils; Cats; contamination; Czech Republic; Dogs; Environmental Monitoring; Epidemiological Monitoring; Feces - parasitology; geographical variation; Humans; ova; Parasite Egg Count - veterinary; parks; Prevalence; Public Facilities; Public Health; rural areas; Rural Health; sand pit soils; Sand pits; soil; Soil - parasitology; Soil samples; soil sampling; soil types; soil-borne diseases; Toxocara; Toxocara - isolation & purification; Toxocara spp; Toxocariasis - epidemiology; Toxocariasis - transmission; Urban and rural environments; urban areas; Urban Health; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 0304-4017; 1873-2550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.09.023

Contamination of soil with feline and canine ascarid eggs in public parks, backyards and sand pits in Prague, Czech Republic was investigated in this work. Soil samples from shelters and rural areas were also collected. The comparison of soil from different areas (urban, rural, backyards and shelters) exhibited significant difference ( χ 2 = 32.16, d.f. = 3 and p < 0.0001). The highest rate of contamination (45%) was found in backyards inhabited by feral cats. The eggs of Toxocara spp. were found in 20.4% of parks, 10% of shelters and 5% of rural samples. Mean egg density per sample from Prague parks was 6.2 eggs/100 g of soil. In 126 composite samples from children's and pits, the prevalence of Toxocara eggs was 11.90%. The number of eggs in positive samples varied from 2 to 22 (per 100 g). A high proportion (46.9%) of eggs was fully embryonated. There was no difference between the sand pits with or without formal exclusion of dogs ( χ 2 = 0.6, d.f. = 1 and p < 0.0001).