Seroprevalence and risk factors of toxocariasis in preschool children in Aragua state, Venezuela

Martínez, Marcelino Álvarez; Garcı́a, Héctor H.; Figuera, Liliana; González, Verónica; Lamas, Félix; López, Katherinne; Mijares, Víctor M.; Corrales, Yeasiry; Lares, María; Ferrer, Elizabeth

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trv059

Cited by 14 publications

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“…more often than girls (64.8% in boys and 51.2% in girls). This trend was also observed in previous studies [11,22,23]; it has been hypothesized that boys engage in more outdoor activities than girls; thus, they are more likely to be in contact with soil and dogs. However, sex was not significantly associated with Toxocara seropositivity in either the univariate or multivariate analysis in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…A systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that the global seroprevalence of toxocariasis was 19.0%, with the highest rate in the African region (37.7%) and the lowest rate in the Eastern Mediterranean region (8.2%) [20]. Many factors have been proposed to be involved, including contact with dogs [11,15], children's age [21], and male sex [11,22,23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection and associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural Southern Thailand

Phasuk

Punsawad

2020

Trop Med Health

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Background: Human toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by a parasite in the genus Toxocara and is transmitted mainly by the accidental ingestion of embryonated Toxocara canis (dog roundworm) or T. cati (cat roundworm) eggs. Several studies reported that children were the main population at risk for T. canis infection. Currently, no reports on the seroprevalence of T. canis infection in Thailand are available, and its status remains unknown among children who live in rural areas of southern Thailand. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of T. canis infection and its associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural areas of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand. Methods: A total of 177 schoolchildren between 6 and 13 years of age were recruited between June and July 2019. Serum anti-T. canis IgG antibodies were detected with a commercial ELISA kit. A questionnaire administered by direct interviews was used to collect demographic and behavioral risk factor data. Results: The overall seroprevalence of T. canis infection was 58.2% (103 of 177). The univariate analysis revealed that schoolchildren who did not practice handwashing before a meal (crude odds ratio (COR) = 3.67, 95% CI 1.93-6.95, P < 0.001), did not practice hand washing after animal contact (COR = 2.89, 95% CI 1.53-5.47, P = 0.001), and drank untreated water (COR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.00-3.48, P = 0.049) had an increased risk of acquiring T. canis infection. However, after adjusting for confounders, only a lack of handwashing before a meal remained a significant risk factor (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.20, 95% CI 1.11-4.34, P = 0.023). Age, sex, owning a dog, and eating fresh vegetables were not significantly associated with T. canis infection in the current study. Conclusions: This is the first serological investigation of T. canis infection among schoolchildren in Thailand. The high rate of Toxocara seropositivity reflected high levels of exposure to T. canis among schoolchildren in rural areas of southern Thailand. The results also provide baseline data regarding modifiable risk behaviors for effective T. canis infection prevention strategies in southern Thailand, especially strengthening hand washing practices among schoolchildren.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection and associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural Southern Thailand

Phasuk

Punsawad

2020

Trop Med Health

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“…more often than girls (64.8% in boys and 51.2% in girls). This trend was also observed in previous studies [8,18,19]; it has been hypothesized that boys engage in more outdoor activities than girls; thus, they are more likely to be in contact with soil and dogs. However, sex was not significantly associated with Toxocara seropositivity in either the univariate or multivariate analysis in the current study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In Western countries, the prevalence was 5.0% in the United States [14], 8.0% in Italy [15] and 16.0% in Greece [16]. Many factors have been proposed to be involved, including contact with dogs [8,12], children's age [17] and male sex [8,18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxocara canis infection among primary schoolchildren from rural areas of southern Thailand

Phasuk¹,

Punsawad²

2020

Preprint

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BackgroundHuman toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by a parasite in the genus Toxocara and is transmitted mainly by accidental ingestion of embryonated Toxocara canis (dog round worm) or T. cati (cat round worm) eggs. Several studies reported that children were the main population at risk for T. canis infection. Currently, no reports on the seroprevalence of T. canis infection in Thailand are available, and its status remains unknown among children who live in rural areas of southern Thailand.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of T. canis infection and its associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural areas of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand.MethodsA total of 177 schoolchildren between 6 and 13 years of age were recruited between June and July 2019. Serum anti-T. canis IgG antibodies were detected with a commercial ELISA kit. A questionnaire administered by direct interviews was used to collect demographic and behavioral risk factor data.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of T. canis infection was 58.2% (103 of 177). The univariate analysis revealed that schoolchildren who did not practice handwashing before a meal (crude odds ratio (COR) = 3.67, 95% CI: 1.93-6.95, P < 0.001), did not practice hand washing after animal contact (COR = 2.89, 95% CI: 1.53-5.47, P = 0.001), and drank untreated water (COR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.00-3.48, P = 0.049) had an increased risk of acquiring T. canis infection. However, after adjusting for confounders, only a lack of handwashing before a meal remained a significant risk factor (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.11-4.34, P = 0.023). Age, sex, owning a dog and eating fresh vegetables were not significantly associated with T. canis infection in the current study.ConclusionsThis is the first serological investigation of T. canis infection among schoolchildren in Thailand. The high rate of Toxocara seropositivity reflected high levels of exposure to T. canis among schoolchildren in rural areas of southern Thailand. The results also provide baseline data regarding modifiable risk behaviors for effective T. canis infection prevention strategies in southern Thailand, especially strengthening hand washing practices among schoolchildren.

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“…Toxocariasis, a highly underrated and neglected disease, is caused by Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati, which are important intestinal nematodes of dogs and cats, respectively [1][2][3][4]. Of these, T. canis is the most common causative agent of human toxocariasis [5][6][7][8]. Humans acquire toxocariasis by accidental ingestion of embryonated T. canis eggs (from water or soil contaminated by infected cat/dog faeces) or encapsulated larvae (from raw/undercooked meat); toxocariasis usually does not show any symptoms [3,9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxocara infection in Korean, Manchu, Mongol, and Han ethnic groups in northern China

et al. 2016

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Toxocariasis is a very prevalent zoonotic disease worldwide. Recently, investigators have focused more on Toxocara spp. seroprevalence in humans. Information regarding Toxocara seroprevalence in people from different ethnic backgrounds in China is limited. For this study, blood samples were collected from a total of 802 Han, 520 Korean, 303 Manchu, and 217 Mongol subjects from Jilin and Shandong provinces. The overall Toxocara seroprevalence was 16·07% (14·21% Han, 20·58% Korean, 11·22% Manchu, 18·89% Mongol). Living in suburban or rural areas, having dogs at home, exposure to soil, and consumption of raw/undercooked meat were risk factors for Toxocara infection. Exposure to soil was identified as the major risk factor for Toxocara seropositivity in all of the tested ethnicities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report concerning Toxocara infection in Manchus and Mongols in China. The present study provided baseline data for effective prevention strategies of toxocariasis in northeast China and recommends improvements in personal hygiene standards to achieve this goal.

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Seroprevalence and risk factors of toxocariasis in preschool children in Aragua state, Venezuela

Abstract: The results from this work show the presence of infection and a high prevalence of antibodies against Toxocara spp. in the studied municipalities and indicate that toxocariasis poses a serious health problem to preschool children in Aragua state.

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection and associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural Southern Thailand

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection and associated risk factors among primary schoolchildren in rural Southern Thailand

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxocara canis infection among primary schoolchildren from rural areas of southern Thailand

Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxocara infection in Korean, Manchu, Mongol, and Han ethnic groups in northern China

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