Seroprevalence of Toxocara infection in middle-class and disadvantaged children in northern Spain (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country)

Cilla, Gustavo; Pérez-Trallero, Emilio; Gutiérrez, Cristina; Part, Carolina; Gomariz, María José Barahona

doi:10.1007/bf00144010

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Similar studies on the seroprevalence of toxocariasis have reported rates of 0 -4.2% (Fenoy et al, 1996) and 3.1-57.1% (Cilla et al, 1996) in Spain, 1.9% in Italy (Di Fiore et al, 1989), 2.1% in Germany (Kimmig et al, 1991), 11% in The Netherlands (Van Gemund et al, 1989), 13.9% in the United States (Won et al, 2008), and up to 24.6% in the Czech Republic (Uhlíková & Hü bner, 1998). The seropositivity in 343 tested Polish children (Zarnowska et al, 2008) was much higher, reaching 73% (249/343 children).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among asymptomatic children with eosinophilia in Croatia

Sviben¹,

Čavlek²,

Missoni³

et al. 2009

J. Helminthol.

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A total of 142 serum specimens from Croatian children aged 3-18 years, with peripheral eosinophilia and without any clinical symptoms, were tested for the presence of Toxocara canis IgG antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot method. The overall T. canis seropositivity rate in the samples tested was 31%. There was no statistical difference in the seroprevalence rate between boys (32.1%) and girls (29.7%, chi2 = 0.092, P = 0.761). The T. canis seropositivity varied significantly between age groups both in boys (Fisher's test P < 0.001) and girls (Fisher's test P = 0.007). The highest seroprevalence rate was found in boys aged 11-14 (42.9%) and girls aged 7-10 (44.2%). Our results showed a high seroprevalence rate of T. canis infection among children with eosinophilia. It is important that testing for toxocariasis should be included in a differential diagnosis of eosinophilia, especially in children.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among asymptomatic children with eosinophilia in Croatia

Sviben¹,

Čavlek²,

Missoni³

et al. 2009

J. Helminthol.

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“…antibodies according to income strata have been found in previous studies. These differences always indicate a greater impact on the lower income classes [16],[20],[60]. The same effect was observed, although to a lesser extent, for the appearance of clinical disease (only VT cases were observed), but the reason for this outcome is that the basis of the medical diagnosis was the serologic test [3],[7],[8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Specifically, the male gender has been observed to face increased risk [51],[57], to protect the subject [63],[64] and to show no association with Toxocara contact [52],[65],[66]. A young age [63], low socioeconomic status [16],[20],[60], low parental education [52], poor sanitation [53],[67], onychophagy [65],[66], geophagy [57],[59], an absence of hand washing before meals [54], eosinophilia [51],[58], and dog ownership [57],[58],[59],[68] are factors associated with Toxocara contact or infection. None of these known factors, except for geophagy and hand washing before meals, was significantly associated with Toxocara exposure in the population investigated in the current study, with p-values ranging between 0.094 and 0.954 in the final Poisson model (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, income and related sociodemographic variables have been strongly emphasized as causal factors in the human- Toxocara relationship based on interpretations of unadjusted [20],[60],[72] or adjusted models, considering few [65],[73] or no [16],[74],[75] attributes that are important and directly related to the parasite life cycle, such as soil contact and personal hygiene. This paper, however, suggests that these modifiable factors are more important than sociodemographic attributes and are thus a direct target for disease prevention and control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seroprevalence and Modifiable Risk Factors for Toxocara spp. in Brazilian Schoolchildren

Cassenote

Lima

Neto³

et al. 2014

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundToxocariasis is a worldwide helminthic zoonosis caused by infection with the larvae of the ascarid worms that comprise the Toxocara spp. Children are particularly prone to infection because they are exposed to the eggs in sandboxes and playgrounds contaminated with dog and cat feces. Certain behaviors, such as a geophagy habit, poor personal hygiene, a lack of parental supervision, close contact with young dogs, and ingestion of raw meat, as well as gender, age, and socioeconomic status, affect the prevalence of the disease. However, previous studies of the risk factors for toxocariasis have generally produced inconsistent results. An epidemiological cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of IgG anti-Toxocara spp. antibodies and associated factors in schoolchildren from a region in the southeast of Brazil.Methodology/Principal FindingsA total of 252 schoolchildren aged 1 to 12 years (120 males and 132 females) were assessed. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on Toxocara canis larval excretory-secretory antigens was used to determine outcomes. A questionnaire was used to collect information on children, family, and home characteristics. Clinical and laboratory data completed the dataset investigated in this study. Seroprevalence was 15.5% (95%CI 11.5–19.8). Geophagy (aPR 2.38 [95%CI 1.36–4.18], p-value 0.029) and the habit of hand washing before meals (aPR 0.04 [95%CI 0.01–0.11], p-value ≤0.001) were factors associated with increased and decreased seroprevalence, respectively. The income factor and its related variables lost statistical significance after adjustment with a multiple Poisson regression model.Conclusions/SignificanceThe current study confirms that toxocariasis is a public health problem in the evaluated area; modifiable factors such as soil contact and personal hygiene appear to have a greater influence on the acquisition of infection than sociodemographic attributes, thus representing direct targets for disease prevention and control.

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“…devido a um contato muito próxi-mo com animais de estimação infectados e à exposição a ovos embrionados presentes no ambiente (28). Alonso e cols (2000) acharam prevalência maior de toxocaríase em crianças entre 11 e 12 anos (29) e Cilla e cols (1996) mostraram que crianças de 6 a 10 anos tinham maior risco de contrair a doença (30). Entretanto, alguns trabalhos não encontraram a idade como um fator importante para a doença (31,32).…”

Section: Parâmetrounclassified

Prevalência De Toxocaríase E Fatores Associados Em Crianças De Uma Escola Pública Em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Campos

Carvalho

Soares

et al. 2017

Infarma

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A high prevalence of toxocariasis has been observed in many countries worldwide, especially in tropical countries. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of toxocariasis and its associated factors in 100 children from a public school in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Sociodemographic data, lifestyle habits, self-reported health conditions, as well as characteristics related to housing and the presence of pets, were collected. In addition, clinical exams, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory exams (hemogram, total IgG, total IgE, and anti-Toxocara canis IgG ELISA) were carried out. Among the evaluated children, 15% presented positive serology for toxocariasis. The participants with positive and negative results were compared by means of either a Student's t test, for the two samples, or the Mann-Whitney test, and only the total IgG parameter proved to be statistically different among them. Considering the positive serology, the variable of age, the presence of puppies, contact with the ground, and the BMI (thinness) status proved to be significantly associated. These variables were included in a multiple logistics regression model to identify the factors independently associated with the response variable. The significance level adopted in the final model was of 0.05. Also in the final model, the variable of contact with the ground and the BMI status remained at a p-value of 0.025 and 0.030, respectively. An epidemiologically relevant prevalence of toxocariasis was found in the studied population. This prevalence serves as a warning sign that disease control measures need to be better publicized and implemented.Keywords: children; zoonoses; seroepidemiologic studies; toxocariasis RESUMOTem sido demostrada uma alta prevalência de toxocaríase em diferentes países do mundo, principalmente nos países tropicais. Dessa forma o objetivo desse estudo foi estimar a prevalência de toxocaríase e seus fatores associados em cem crianças de uma escola pública de Belo Horizonte, Brasil. Foram coletadas informações sociodemográficas, hábi-tos de estilo de vida, condições de saúde autorreferida, características relacionadas à moradia e à presença de animais domésticos. Também foram realizados exames clínicos, medidas antropométricas e exames laboratoriais (hemograma, IgG total, IgE total e ELISA para detecção de anticorpos IgG anti-Toxocara canis). Entre as crianças avaliadas,

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Seroprevalence of Toxocara infection in middle-class and disadvantaged children in northern Spain (Gipuzkoa, Basque Country)

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among asymptomatic children with eosinophilia in Croatia

Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among asymptomatic children with eosinophilia in Croatia

Seroprevalence and Modifiable Risk Factors for Toxocara spp. in Brazilian Schoolchildren

Prevalência De Toxocaríase E Fatores Associados Em Crianças De Uma Escola Pública Em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil

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