Seroprevalence of Toxocara Infection among Asthmatic Children in Shiraz City, Southern Iran
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Abstract
Background: Human toxocariasis is caused by Toxocara canis and T. cati, the nematodes in the intestine of dogs and cats, respectively. Since the association between asthma and toxocariasis is controversial, the aim of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence of Toxocara infection among asthmatic children in comparison with healthy children.
Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 92 asthmatic and 91 healthy children aged 1-16 years old in Shiraz City, Southern Iran in 2019-2020. The serum samples were tested for IgG anti-Toxocara antibodies by ELISA method using the T. canis larval excretory-secretory (E/S) antigens. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The seroprevalence of toxocariasis in asthmatic patients was higher than the healthy children with no significant difference in Toxocara seropositivity between two groups (9.8% vs 8.8%, P = 0.817). The association between Toxocara infection and variables such as gender and age were not statistically significant.
Conclusion: There was no significant association between toxocariasis and childhood asthma. Further study on different regions such as urban and rural areas with a large sample size and using questionnaire for considering risk factors of asthma and toxocariasis is recommended.
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14. Chan PW, Anuar AK, Fong MY, et al. Toxocara seroprevalence and childhood asthma among Malaysian children. Pediatr int. 2001;43(4):350-3.
15. Figueiredo SD, Taddei JA, Menezes JJ, et al. [Clinical-epidemiological study of toxocariasis in a pediatric population]. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2005; 81(2):126-32.
16. Kustimur S, Dogruman Al F, et al. Toxocara seroprevalence in adults with bronchial asthma. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2007;101(3):270-4.
17. Mosayebi M, Moini L, Hajihossein R, et al. Detection of specific antibody reactivity to Toxocara larval excretory-secretory antigens in asthmatic patients (5-15 years). Open Microbiol J. 2016; 10: 162–167.
18. Cadore PS, Zhang L, Lemos Lde L, et al. Toxocariasis and childhood asthma: A case-control study. J Asthma. 2016;53(6):601-6.
19. Silva MB, Amor ALM, Santos LN, et al. Risk factors for Toxocara spp. seroprevalence and its association with atopy and asthma phenotypes in school-age children in a small town and semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil. Acta Trop. 2017;174:158-164.
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22. Arefkhah N, Shadzi MR, Mikaeili F, et al. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of toxocariasis among nomads in Boyer-Ahmad County, southwest Iran. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2020;114(5):372-377.
23. Asher MI, Montefort S, Björkstén B, et al. ISAAC Phase Three Study Group. Worldwide time trends in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in childhood: ISAAC Phases One and Three repeat multicountry cross-sectional surveys. Lancet. 2006;368(9537):733-43.
24. Fazlollahi MR, Najmi M, Fallahnezhad M, et al. Paediatric asthma prevalence: The first national population‐based survey in Iran. Clin Respir J. 2018;13(1):14-22.
25. Cooper PJ. Toxocara canis infection: an important and neglected environmental risk factor for asthma? Clin Exp Allergy. 2008;38(4):551-3.
26. Pinelli E, Dormans J, Die I. Toxocara and asthma. Toxocara: The enigmatic parasite. (Holland C.V. and Smith H.V., Eds). CABI Publishing, Wallingford. 2006: 42-57.
27. Pinelli E, Aranzamendi C. Toxocara infection and its Association with Allergic Manifestations. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2012;12(1):33-44.
28. Khozime A, Mirsadraee M, Borji H. Toxocara sero-prevalence and its relationship with allergic asthma in asthmatic patients in north-eastern Iran. J Helminthol. 2019;93(6):677-680.
2. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM, Maraghi S. The occurrence of Toxocara species in naturally infected broiler chickens revealed by molecular approaches. J Helminthol. 2017; 91(5):633-636.
3. Vafae Eslahi A, Badri M, Khorshidi A, et al. Prevalence of Toxocara and Toxascaris infection among human and animals in Iran with meta-analysis approach. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2020;20(1):20.
4. Dharmage SC, Perret JL, Custovic A. Epidemiology of Asthma in Children and Adults. Front Pediatr. 2019;7:246.
5. Sharghi N, Schantz PM, Caramico L, et al. Environmental exposure to Toxocara as a possible risk factor for asthma: a clinic-based case-control study. Clin Infect Dis. 2001; 32(7):E111-6.
6. Fernando D, Wickramasinghe P, Kapilananda G, et al. Toxocara seropositivity in Sri Lankan children with asthma. Pediatr Int. 2009;51(2):241-5.
7. López LM, Bojanich MV, Jacobacci JM, et al. [Toxocara canis and bronchial asthma]. Medicina (B Aires). 2010;70(1):75-8.
8. Cobzaru RG, Rîpă C, Leon MM, et al. Correlation between asthma and Toxocara canis infection. Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi. 2012; 116(3):727-30.
9. Kanobana K, Vereecken K, Junco Diaz R, et al. Toxocara seropositivity, atopy and asthma: a study in Cuban schoolchildren. Trop Med Int Health. 2013; 18(4):403-6.
10. El-Tantawy NL, El-Nahas HA, El-Assmy MM, et al. Clinicoseroepidemiological evaluation of toxocariasis in asthmatic pediatric children in Mansoura city in Egypt. Archives of Clinical Microbiology. 2013;4(4:3).
11. Momen T, Esmaeil N, Reisi M. Seroprevalence of Toxocara canis in Asthmatic Children and its Relation to the Severity of Diseases: a Case-Control Study. Med Arch. 2018;72(3):174-177.
12. Li L, Gao W, Yang X, et al. Asthma and toxocariasis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2014;113(2):187-92.
13. Aghaei S, Riahi SM, Rostami A, et al. Toxocara spp. infection and risk of childhood asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Trop. 2018;182:298-304.
14. Chan PW, Anuar AK, Fong MY, et al. Toxocara seroprevalence and childhood asthma among Malaysian children. Pediatr int. 2001;43(4):350-3.
15. Figueiredo SD, Taddei JA, Menezes JJ, et al. [Clinical-epidemiological study of toxocariasis in a pediatric population]. J Pediatr (Rio J). 2005; 81(2):126-32.
16. Kustimur S, Dogruman Al F, et al. Toxocara seroprevalence in adults with bronchial asthma. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2007;101(3):270-4.
17. Mosayebi M, Moini L, Hajihossein R, et al. Detection of specific antibody reactivity to Toxocara larval excretory-secretory antigens in asthmatic patients (5-15 years). Open Microbiol J. 2016; 10: 162–167.
18. Cadore PS, Zhang L, Lemos Lde L, et al. Toxocariasis and childhood asthma: A case-control study. J Asthma. 2016;53(6):601-6.
19. Silva MB, Amor ALM, Santos LN, et al. Risk factors for Toxocara spp. seroprevalence and its association with atopy and asthma phenotypes in school-age children in a small town and semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil. Acta Trop. 2017;174:158-164.
20. Sadri H, Gharavi MJ, Arjmand R, et al. Toxocara infection in asthmatic children: A case-control study in Karaj district, Iran. Arch Pediatr Infect Dis. 2019; (2); e82370.
21. Alcântara-Neves NM, de S G Britto G, Veiga RV, et al. Effects of helminth co-infections on atopy, asthma and cytokine production in children living in a poor urban area in Latin America. BMC Res Notes. 2014; 7:817.
22. Arefkhah N, Shadzi MR, Mikaeili F, et al. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of toxocariasis among nomads in Boyer-Ahmad County, southwest Iran. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2020;114(5):372-377.
23. Asher MI, Montefort S, Björkstén B, et al. ISAAC Phase Three Study Group. Worldwide time trends in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in childhood: ISAAC Phases One and Three repeat multicountry cross-sectional surveys. Lancet. 2006;368(9537):733-43.
24. Fazlollahi MR, Najmi M, Fallahnezhad M, et al. Paediatric asthma prevalence: The first national population‐based survey in Iran. Clin Respir J. 2018;13(1):14-22.
25. Cooper PJ. Toxocara canis infection: an important and neglected environmental risk factor for asthma? Clin Exp Allergy. 2008;38(4):551-3.
26. Pinelli E, Dormans J, Die I. Toxocara and asthma. Toxocara: The enigmatic parasite. (Holland C.V. and Smith H.V., Eds). CABI Publishing, Wallingford. 2006: 42-57.
27. Pinelli E, Aranzamendi C. Toxocara infection and its Association with Allergic Manifestations. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2012;12(1):33-44.
28. Khozime A, Mirsadraee M, Borji H. Toxocara sero-prevalence and its relationship with allergic asthma in asthmatic patients in north-eastern Iran. J Helminthol. 2019;93(6):677-680.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 16 No 4 (2021) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v16i4.7871 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Seroprevalence Toxocara Asthma Iran | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Salemi AM, Arefkhah N, Mikaeili F, Rabbani H, Nabavizadeh H. Seroprevalence of Toxocara Infection among Asthmatic Children in Shiraz City, Southern Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2021;16(4):587-592.
