Prevalence of Toxocara cati and other parasites in cats’ faeces collected from the open spaces of public institutions: Buenos Aires, Argentina

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

“…The difference in the centre compared with other regions is most likely due to a more targeted public intervention to those regions, such as cleaning, maintenance, presence of refuse dumps and controlled access by the use of fences, while those regions still contained a high level of soil contamination. In fact, in public spaces where animals are allowed access, they can liberate eggs and or larvae of parasites into the environment through their feces and thus generate a risk for the population 36,41 . The high prevalence in other areas indicates that socioeconomic indicators, such as low income and education level, are related to the spread of parasites with zoonotic potential in the environment 17,41 .…”

“…In fact, in public spaces where animals are allowed access, they can liberate eggs and or larvae of parasites into the environment through their feces and thus generate a risk for the population 36,41 . The high prevalence in other areas indicates that socioeconomic indicators, such as low income and education level, are related to the spread of parasites with zoonotic potential in the environment 17,41 . Additionally, the canine population density varies from region to region, especially stray dogs.…”

“…Additionally, the canine population density varies from region to region, especially stray dogs. This one factor is related to socio-economic aspects of each population group in the same city 41,42 ; in this context, the peripheral areas of large cities offer better conditions for the high prevalence of helminth parasites 1,10,13,14,15,22,24,25 . The study results obtained in Guarulhos, where approximately 75% of districts had contaminated the soil with parasites responsible for zoonoses, indicate that the majority of the municipal population is at zoonotic risk.…”

“…Egg resistance, to both chemical and climatic factors, influences their viability in the environment over long periods of time 41 . Type of soil, ambient temperature and humidity are the main factors that determine the time it takes to evolve from egg to larvae 26 .…”

“…Although the methods used to recover zoonotic parasites in soil are not standardized and are not always comparable 23,26 , the techniques used in our study are in agreement with others studies and they are considered effective 16,21,23,28 . Another important aspect in parasite detection is the type of soil 21,22,23,26,41 . In this study, we observed that soil from all studied place and squares were primarily composed of sand, and more rarely clay soil.…”