Detection of Zoonotic Intestinal Parasites in Public Parks of Spain. Potential Epidemiological Role of Microsporidia

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated that the soil of public parks presents an important source of infection which has a significant impact on public health. Children are the main group affected by accidentally ingestion of contaminated soil. This study was performed in order to identify the presence of zoonotic parasites in dog and cat faecal and soil samples from public parks of Madrid, Spain. Six hundred twenty-five and seventy-nine soil and faecal samples (presumably from dogs and cats) respectively were collected from 67 parks. Intestinal parasites were identified in 27 parks (40.3%), which were contamined with Giardia sp. (19.4%), microsporidia (19.4%), Toxocara spp. (16.4%), Cryptosporidium sp. (6%), Entamoeba histolytica (3%) and Ancylostomidae (3%). Combinations of two or more intestinal parasites were found in 11 parks, and it was common to find Giardia and microsporidia together in samples. Intestinal parasites were detected in 18% (112/625) of soil samples. The most frequent parasite species found in the examined soil samples were Toxocara spp. (16.4%), followed by Giardia sp. (4.5%) and Strongyloides sp. larvae (3%). The zoonotic parasites found in the 79 faecal samples were Giardia sp. (17.7%), Cryptosporidium sp. (9%), E. histolytica (2.5%), Trichuris vulpis (1.3%), Toxascaris leonina (1.3%) and microsporidia spores (28%). Microsporidia characterization by amplification of DNA confirmed 10 samples as positive, eight for E. bieneusi and two for E. hellem by PCR. The role of those parasites in the environment are discussed.

Contamination of public parks and squares from Guarulhos (São Paulo State, Brazil ) by Toxocara spp. and Ancylostoma spp.

“…With regards to soil samples with eggs and larvae of Ancylostoma spp., the frequency in this study (46.8%) was higher than the cities of some countries, such as Bogotá, Colombia (10.7%) 31 , Kaduna, Nigeria (9%) 22 , Wrocław, Poland (4.9%) 30 , Madrid, Spain (3%) 10 and different regions of Costa Rica (2%) 29 . Concerning the Brazilian cities, our results with hookworms in Guarulhos were similar to the recorded in Araçatuba (São Paulo State) by NUNES et al (2000) 28 , who found 46% of the sand samples contaminated with Ancylostoma spp.…”

“…have been found in soil samples worldwide. They are present in public and private 13 , Kaduna, Nigeria (50.4%) 22 , Prague, Czech Republic (20.4%) 14 , Sapporo, Japan (7.47%) 25 and London, United Kingdom (6.3%) 15 as well as in different regions of Poland (2-37%) 26 and Spain (3.8-52%) 10 7 , Fernandópolis (20.89%) 5 , Ribeirão Preto (20.5%) 3 and Botucatu (17.5%) 40 .…”

“…Despite the high incidence of larva migrans syndromes in various regions, few studies have assessed soil contamination in large urban centers 3,10,14,15,18,37,39 . For example, in Guarulhos, a metropolitan area of São Paulo (São Paulo State, Brazil), there is little analysis of soil contamination by helminths that cause zoonoses.…”

Urban park-related risks forGiardiaspp. infection in dogs

“…Within the social sciences, investigations into the relationships between spatial and temporal patterns of dog-walking, dog-to-dog contact, and dog demographics have indirectly explored behaviours that could influence the risk of GI disease transmission in dogs [3,[11][12][13]. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated the extent to which parks might pose risks for infection and transmission of GI parasites in dogs [2,7,9,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], a relevant query given that in urban settings, parks figure prominently as dog-walking destinations [22]. Giardia spp.…”

“…infection, such as dog owners who do not reliably pick up their dogs' faeces while attending parks [13,21], as Giardia spp. cysts have been isolated from undisposed dog faeces within parks [19,20]. Other parkrelated behaviours that may pose risks for infection and transmission of GI parasites, including Giardia spp., have been investigated, but with mixed results [2,7,9,[13][14][15][16][17][18].…”