Prevalence of antibodies toToxocara canisand its associated risk factors in socio‐economically deprived nomadic communities of Pakistan

Abstract

Toxocariasis is an important zoonotic disease caused by Toxocara (T.) canis with considerably higher prevalence in developing countries. The data on its epidemiology, especially in socioeconomically deprived nomadic communities, are scarce in Pakistan. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anti‐T. canis antibodies and its associated risk factors in nomadic communities located in and around Multan, Pakistan. A total of 184 sera samples were collected from nomadic communities by simple random sampling technique. The descriptive epidemiological data of participants were collected on well‐designed questionnaires. Prior consent was also obtained from the participants to use the data generated from their samples without showing their identity. All the samples were analysed for the detection of anti‐T. canis antibodies using commercially available Enzyme‐Linked‐Immunosorbent‐Assay (ELISA) kits having 91% sensitivity and 96% specificity (Bordier Affinity Products, Switzerland). The overall seroprevalence of toxocariasis among nomadic communities was 27.7% (51/184). Various factors, including age, known disease history, nutritional status, contact with dogs, practice of hand washing after contact with dogs, use of unwashed vegetables, body mass index, and drug abuse, showed significant correlation (p < 0.05) with toxocariasis in nomadic communities. Conversely, other factors, including gender, marital status, educational status, awareness about zoonotic diseases, source of drinking water, occupation, location, hand washing before taking food, exposure to soil, and hygienic eating behaviour, showed non‐significant correlation (p > 0.05) with seroprevalence of toxocariasis. Results also showed that >50% of seropositive cases were asymptomatic, whereas cough and abdominal pain were recorded in 19.6% and 11.76% of seropositive cases, respectively. Keeping in view, it is suggested to conduct surveys at mass level to rule out the exact disease status at national level and to include nomadic communities in local, national, and regional disease control programs through provision of better healthcare facilities and awareness about the disease.

Seroprevalence of Toxocara spp. in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Human toxocariasis is an important one health matter in the developing countries [ 30 ]. Although the lack of gold standard and specific clinical symptoms have been the main limitations in estimating the prevalence of toxocariasis close to reality [ 31 ], however, the present meta-analysis and systematic review study has addressed the global estimation of toxocariasis in pregnant women according to the available reports.…”

“…Human toxocariasis is an important one health matter in the developing countries [30]. Although the lack of gold standard and specific clinical symptoms have been the main 2…”