Soil contamination by Echinococcus multilocularis in rural and urban vegetable gardens in relation to fox, cat and dog faecal deposits

Abstract

Echinococcus multilocularis eggs are deposited on the ground with the faeces of the carnivore definitive hosts. A reliable assessment of the spatial distribution of E. multilocularis eggs in environments used by humans is crucial for the prevention of alveolar echinococcosis (AE). This study was conducted in 192 rural and 71 urban vegetable gardens in AE endemic areas of north-eastern France. Its objective was to explore the relationship between the spatial distribution of E. multilocularis estimated from the collection and molecular analysis of two types of samples: faeces and soil. A total of 1024 carnivore faeces and 463 soil samples were collected and analysed by real-time PCR. No fox droppings and no positive soil samples were collected from the urban gardens. Positive soil samples, positive carnivore faeces, or both, were found in 42%, 24% and 6% of the sampled rural gardens, respectively. No significant association was found between the detection of E. multilocularis in soil samples collected from 50 gardens during a single sampling session and the extent and frequency of deposits of fox and cat faeces collected during repeated sampling sessions conducted in the previous months. In 19/50 gardens, E. multilocularis was detected in the soil while no positive faeces had been collected in the previous 12 months. Conversely, in 8/50 gardens, no soil samples were positive although positive faeces had been collected in the previous months. Collecting and analysing faeces provide information on soil contamination at a given time, while analysing soil samples provides an overview of long-term contamination.

First report demonstrating the presence of Toxocara spp. eggs on vegetables grown in community gardens in Europe

“…Vegetables from contaminated environments should be washed or cooked before being consumed, to avoid the risk of ingesting viable Toxocara eggs, while hand hygiene following contact with soil should also be observed. It should also be noted that absence of visible faeces does not rule out historical contamination and persistent infection risk from gardens, as confirmed for the zoonotic tapeworm of foxes and dogs, Echinococcus multilocularis ( Da Silva et al, 2021 ), while cats tend to bury their faeces, concealing signs of elevated Toxocara hazard ( Maciag et al, 2022 ).…”

Feline Cyst-like Lymphocytic Cholangiohepatitis in a Cat: First Case Report

“…Therefore, praziquantel should be prescribed to all cats with hepatobiliary diseases in Thailand. Echinococcosis is another possible cause of hepatic cysts in cats [ 29 ]. To the authors’ knowledge, echinococcosis in cats has never been reported in Thailand.…”

Response of wild rodents to red fox feces: implication for the echinococcus infection

“…The Image J software (Image Processing and Analysis in Java) was used to measure the shortest distance from animals to feces (Fig. 2), because the area around feces was contaminated [3], thereby rodents where were near the feces had the possibility of echinococcus infection. Data on rodents within 30 cm of the feces were used, because rodents far from the feces would be difficult to contact contaminated soil.…”