Frequency and risk factors for toxocariasis in children from a pediatric outpatient center in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

SUMMARYTo estimate the frequency of anti-Toxocara sp. antibodies, and evaluate factors associated with this infection, sera from 242 male and female children, aged from one to fifteen years old, attended at the Hospital of the Federal University of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were analyzed by ELISA. Information on the patients was collected and registered using an investigative questionnaire, and details on possible clinical alterations were obtained from the medical charts of 187 patients. Of a total of 242 samples, 21 (8.7%) were positive for anti-Toxocara sp. antibodies. The presence of dogs and cats and the school variable (place of contact), appeared to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with a positive serology. Respiratory symptoms and eosinophil counts greater than 20% also showed a positive statistical correlation with a positive serology for Toxocara sp.. Factors such as sex and age, and symptoms like headache, stomach ache, convulsive crises and anemia were not associated with toxocariasis.

Serological, clinical and epidemiological evaluation of toxocariasis in urban areas of south Brazil

“…On the other hand TEIXEIRA et al (2006) 32 found a correlation between positive serology, respiratory symptoms, and eosinophilia. This is explainable, because the clinical aspects of toxocariasis can vary from asymptomatic forms to pulmonary, ocular, and hepatic clinical pictures, among others.…”

“…This means that children and adolescents of both genders are exposed to the same kind of toys and the same recreational environments. Data on these epidemiological factors are controversial in different study areas 4 32 observed an association between seropositivity and the presence of a dog or cat, and presence of sand at school. In the present study, the school places were more contaminated than the squares, highlighting the risk to children and adolescents in their school activities.…”

“…IgG antibodies have demonstrated prevalence of this zoonosis in Europe ranging from 2% to 44% 10,20 . Studies of seroprevalence in children have reported 67% positivity in the subtropical region of Argentina 19 , 12.1% in the Brazilian Northeast 7 , and 8.7% to 54.8% in south eastern Brazil 11,32 . In the city of Maringá, in the state of Paraná, south Brazil, seropositivity in children attended at the Municipal Hospital was 28.8% 23 and eggs of Toxocara spp.…”

Human toxocariasis: a seroepidemiological survey in the Amazonian city of Yurimaguas, Peru

“…Ownership of pets such as dogs or cats and their presence at home is frequently associated with toxocariasis, as mentioned by many authors 5,22,24,28,[34][35][36][37] . However, this fact was not associated with the seropositivity in the studied population (p = 0.107).…”

Human Toxocariasis in Rural Brazilian Amazonia: Seroprevalence, Risk Factors, and Spatial Distribution

“…9,10 However, few comparable data are currently available for rural areas, where human infections are usually most prevalent. 11 Seropositivity rates between 8.7% and 39.0% have been found in different samples of Brazilian children (sample size, 100-483) examined over the past decade, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] but exposure to Toxocara has been rarely investigated in other age groups and no data are available for rural populations of this country. 19 Here we describe the epidemiology of human toxocariasis in one of the largest agricultural settlements in the Amazon Basin of Brazil, the Pedro Peixoto settlement in the state of Acre.…”