CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Soil can be an important source of human and animal pathogens; many of them are etiological agents of zoonotic helminthic parasitic diseases. Companion animals (dogs and cats) are potential reservoirs and transmitters of soil borne helminths, contaminating the environment through the faeces. Of these, Toxocara spp. has been extensively studied in human and animal populations, while less survey has been carried out on Strongyloides stercoralis and Ancylostoma spp. Parasite contamination level of the cities would be a consequence of the animal density, the lack of hygienic sanitary measures that control the presence of faeces in public spaces, and the absence of fences that avoid the access of canines and felines and efficiently delimit the zones intended for children recreation. The aimed of this study was to describe parasite contamination of the squares of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires with emphasis on the study of zoonotic geohelminths and to identify the impact of fencing (perimetral fence, kennels and children´s sandboxes) as a preventive measure to the access of pets and their defecation. A total of 11 squares were studied during a follow up year, from which 216 fresh sample faeces were collected and individually analyzed by modified Bembrook´s technique and the Baermann´s technique. A general prevalence of parasitism was found of 27.31% (59/216), 95% CI = 21.33 - 33.30 in which 31.67% (19/59) presented parasitic associations.ParasiteNPrevalenceAncylostoma spp.42 (19,44%)71,12 %Trichuris spp.20 (9,26%)33,89 %Sarcocystis spp.8 (3,70%)13,55 %Toxocara spp.6 (2,78%)10,17 %Coccidios spp.5 (2,31%)8,47 %Giardia spp.1 (0,46%)1,69 %Total59 (27,31 %)Ancylostoma spp. was the most prevalent genus, followed by Trichuris spp, coinciding with other reports from different Argentinean cities. This parasitic association was the most prevalent, which suggests that adult animals could be reservoirs and sources of infection for the environment as they are both genera frequently found in this age group. The prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. indicates that pets are fed raw or undercooked meat, which warns the potential risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis infection either. No Strongyloides stercoralis larvae were found by Baermann´s technique. The 79% of the squares studied had perimetral fencing. With one exception, all the children´s sandboxes and all the kennels were fenced. General parasite prevalence in the three sectors sampled were for Kennels 4/21(19,05%); Children´s sandboxes 5/7 (83,33%) and general sector 50/188 (26,60%). There were significant differences in the prevalence of general parasitosis among the three sectors, with the general sector of the square being the most parasitized (X2 = 7.6, p = 0.022). Regarding the relationship in the parasites prevalence between squares with perimetral fencing and without fencing, no significant differences were found (X2 = 0.027, p = 0.87), since fencing does not prevent animals entry. It is concluded that the fencing of public squres, especially in the children´s sandboxes is a relevant measure to prevent animals access and indirectly to reduce environmental contamination by parasites of companion animals. However, this measure does not prevent free access in the general sector of the square and therefore does not reduce the degree of contamination by animal parasites. The most prevalent parasitosis corresponded to one of the zoonotic geohelminthiasis evidencing the risk for the human health that takes contact with contaminated soils in these recreational spaces.