Contamination of soils with eggs of Toxocara in a subtropical city in Argentina

ALONSO, J.M. STEIN M.; CHAMORRO M.; BOJANICH, M.V

JOURNAL OF HELMINTHOLOGY

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Año: 2001 vol. 75 p. 165 - 168

0022-149X

A total of 475 soil sample s wer e collected from five public par k playgrounds , 17 kindergarten sandpit s an d 124 housin g estates in Resistencia, a medium-sized subtropical-region city in Argentina, an d processed by the centrifugal flotation method. Eggs of Toxocara spp . wer e present in five (3.4%) of the 146 habitats surveyed an d in six (1.3%) of the 475 sample s examined. Twenty pe r cent of public parks , 5.9% of kindergarten sandpit s an d 2.4% of housing estates wer e contaminated with Toxocara eggs . Dependin g on the numbe r of sample s examined from the three types of habitat , contamination by Toxocara wa s 0.7% in public par k playgrounds , 1.2% in kindergarten sandpit s an d 1.6% in the housing estates. Hig h prevalences of Ancylostomida e eggs wer e also found especially in public par k playground s with a value of 100%, compare d with 19.4% found in housin g estates an d 11.8% in kindergarten samples . These results sugges t that in Resistencia, huma n infections wit h Toxocara are likely to occur within the limits of housing estates mor e so than in public parks or ope n spaces.