Seroprevalence of Canine Toxocariasis in Three Rural Areas of Fars Province, Southern Iran
Abstract
Background: Toxocara canis is one of the most important causes of animal toxocariasis with global distribution. We aimed to find out the seroprevalence of toxocariasis in dogs in a rural area in Fars Province, south of Iran.
Methods: Dogs blood samples were collected from 60 dogs in three rural areas in the Sar Mashhad region, Fars Province. Dog sera were evaluated for anti-Toxocara antibodies by an indirect ELISA method. The association between the seropositivity and age, gender, and the sampling location were statistically evaluated.
Results: Serological assay detected anti-Toxocara antibodies in sera of 32 out of 60 dogs, corresponding to a seroprevalence of 53.3%. The rate of seropositivity was higher in the male dogs. The rate of seropositivity was higher in old dogs. This rate increased with increasing age, however, the association between age and Toxocara seropositivity was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of Toxocara infection in dogs in the current study area confirms that infected dogs are an important source of Toxocara infection for their owners and people who are in close contact with these animals, especially children.
1. Overgaauw PA, Nederland V. Aspects of Toxocara epidemiology: Human toxocarosis. Crit Rev Microbiol. 1997;23:215-231.
2. Okulewicz A, Perec-Matysiak A, Buńkowska K, Hildebrand J. Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina in wild and domestic carnivores. Helminthologia. 2012;49:3-10.
3. Despommier D. Toxocariasis: Clinical aspects, epidemiology, medical ecology, and molecular aspects. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003;16:265-272.
4. Strube C, Heuer L, Janecek E. Toxocara spp. Infections in paratenic hosts. Vet Parasitol. 2013;193:375-389.
5. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM. Trend of toxocariasis in Iran: A review on human and animal dimensions. Iran J Vet Res. 2017;18:233-242.
6. Woodhall DM, Eberhard ML, Parise ME. Neglected parasitic infections in the united states: Toxocariasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014;90:810-813.
7. Choobineh M, Mikaeili F, Sadjjadi S, Ebrahimi S, Iranmanesh S. Molecular characterization of Toxocara spp. Eggs isolated from public parks and playgrounds in shiraz, Iran. J Helminthol. 2019;93:306-312.
8. Abbaszadeh Afshar MJ, Zahabiun F, Heydarian P, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of toxocariasis in Iran: Is it time to take it seriously? Acta Parasitol. 2020;65:569-584.
9. Samani N, Jamshidi Z. Climate change trend in fars province, Iran and its effect on groundwater crisis. Proceedings of the international conference of recent trends in environmental science and engineering (RTESE'17) Toronto, Canada–August. 2017:23-25
10. Najafi L, Omidian M, Rezaei Z, et al. Molecular and serological evaluation of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in a rural area of Fars province, southern Iran, as a source of Leishmania infantum infection. Vet Med Sci. 2021;7(4):1082-1089.
11. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM, Sarkari B, Uga S. Evaluation of Toxocara cati excretory–secretory larval antigens in serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. J Clin Lab Anal. 2016;30:248-253.
12. Eslahi AV, Badri M, Khorshidi A, et al. Prevalence of Toxocara and toxascaris infection among human and animals in Iran with meta-analysis approach. BMC Infect Dis. 2020;20(1):20.
13. Mirani F, Naem S, Yakhchali M. Investigation of intestinal parasites in guardian and herding dogs of gilanegharb suburb, Iran. Int J Livest Res. 2016;6:39-43.
14. Sarvi S, Daryani A, Sharif M, et al. Domestic dog as a human health hazard in north of Iran. J Parasit Dis. 2016;40:930-934.
15. Rostami A, Riahi SM, Hofmann A, et al. Global prevalence of Toxocara infection in dogs. Adv Parasitol. 2020;109:561-583.
16. Overgaauw PA, Nederland V. Aspects of Toxocara epidemiology: Toxocarosis in dogs and cats. Crit Rev Microbiol. 1997;23:233-251.
17. Burke TM, Roberson EL. Prenatal and lactational transmission of Toxocara canis and Ancylostoma caninum: Experimental infection of the bitch before pregnancy. Int J Parasitol. 1985;15:71-75.
18. Dubinský P, Havasiova-Reiterova K, Peťko B, Hovorka I, Tomašovičová O. Role of small mammals in the epidemiology of toxocariasis. Parasitology. 1995;110(Pt 2):187-193.
19. Mikaeili F, Mirhendi H, Hosseini M, Asgari Q, Kia EB. Toxocara nematodes in stray cats from shiraz, southern Iran: Intensity of infection and molecular identification of the isolates. Iran J Parasitol. 2013; 8(4):593-600.
20. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM, Sarkari B. Prevalence of Toxocara cati and other intestinal helminths in stray cats in Shiraz, Iran. Trop Biomed. 2007;24:39-43.
21. Motazedian H, Mehrabani D, Tabatabaee S, Pakniat A, Tavalali M. Prevalence of helminth ova in soil samples from public places in Shiraz. East Mediterr Health J, 2006; 12 (5):562-565.
22. Ramirez-Barrios RA, Barboza-Mena G, Muñoz J, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs under veterinary care in maracaibo, venezuela. Vet Parasitol. 2004;121:11-20.
23. Kirkpatrick CE. Epizootiology of endoparasitic infections in pet dogs and cats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital. Vet Parasitol. 1988;30:113-124.
24. Razmi GR. Survey of dogs’parasites in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2009;4(4):48-54.
25. Bahrami A, Doosti A, Nahravanian H, Noorian A, Asbchin S. Epidemiological survey of gastro-intestinal parasites in stray dogs and cats. Aust J Basic Appl Sci. 2011;5(9):1944-1948.
26. Yakhchali M, Ebn-Adamnezhad A. A study on Toxocara canis (ascaridida: Ascaridae) infection in dogs and soil of public parks of Piranshahr city, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. J Vet Res. 2014; 69(4):355-362.
27. Mirzaei M, Fooladi M. Canine toxocariasis in south east of Iran. Scientia Parasitologica. 2012;13:45-49.
28. Sardarian K, Maghsood A, Ghiasian S, Zahirnia A. Prevalence of zoonotic intestinal parasites in household and stray dogs in rural areas of Hamadan, western Iran. Trop Biomed. 2015;32:240-246.
29. Kohansal MH, Fazaeli A, Nourian A, Haniloo A, Kamali K. Dogs’ gastrointestinal parasites and their association with public health in Iran. J Vet Res. 2017;61:189-195.
30. Daryani A, Sharif M, Amouei A, Gholami S. Prevalence of Toxocara canis in stray dogs, northern Iran. Pak J Biol Sci. 2009;12:1031-5.
31. Meshgi B, Jamshidi S, Saadati D, Houshyar H, Bokaei S. An overview of Toxocara cat; infection metropolitan region of Tehran, Iran, and diagnostic methods. Iran J Vet Res. 2009: 4(1):53-58
32. Luty T. Prevalence of species of Toxocara in dogs, cats and red foxes from the Poznan Region, Poland. J Helminthol. 2001;75:153-156.
33. Malloy W, Embil J. Prevalence of Toxocara spp. And other parasites in dogs and cats in halifax, nova scotia. Can J Comp Med. 1978;42:29-31.
34. Kim Y-H, Huh S. Prevalence of Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina and Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in chuncheon, korea (2004). Korean J Parasitol. 2005;43:65-7.
35. Oluyomi AS. Prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites of domestic cats in ode-irele and oyo communities, southwest Nigeria. J Parasitol Vector Biol. 2012;4:7-13.
36. Yacob H, Ayele T, Fikru R, Basu A. Gastrointestinal nematodes in dogs from Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Vet Parasitol. 2007;148:144-148.
37. Papazahariadou M, Founta A, Papadopoulos E, Chliounakis S, Antoniadou-Sotiriadou K, Theodorides Y. Gastrointestinal parasites of shepherd and hunting dogs in the Serres Prefecture, Northern Greece. Vet Parasitol. 2007;148:170-173.
38. Engbaek K, Madsen H, Larsen SO. A survey of helminths in stray cats from copenhagen with ecological aspects. Z Parasitenkd. 1984;70:87-94.
39. Haralampidis S. Simbole sti melete ton parasitin tez gatas. Vet Med Diss Thessalonoki. 1977.
40. Noordin R, Smith HV, Mohamad S, Maizels RM, Fong MY. Comparison of igg-elisa and igg4-elisa for Toxocara serodiagnosis. Acta Trop. 2005;93:57-62.
41. Noordin R, Yunus MH, Farrizam SNT, Arifin N. Serodiagnostic methods for diagnosing larval toxocariasis. Adv Parasitol. 2020;109:131-152.
2. Okulewicz A, Perec-Matysiak A, Buńkowska K, Hildebrand J. Toxocara canis, Toxocara cati and Toxascaris leonina in wild and domestic carnivores. Helminthologia. 2012;49:3-10.
3. Despommier D. Toxocariasis: Clinical aspects, epidemiology, medical ecology, and molecular aspects. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2003;16:265-272.
4. Strube C, Heuer L, Janecek E. Toxocara spp. Infections in paratenic hosts. Vet Parasitol. 2013;193:375-389.
5. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM. Trend of toxocariasis in Iran: A review on human and animal dimensions. Iran J Vet Res. 2017;18:233-242.
6. Woodhall DM, Eberhard ML, Parise ME. Neglected parasitic infections in the united states: Toxocariasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014;90:810-813.
7. Choobineh M, Mikaeili F, Sadjjadi S, Ebrahimi S, Iranmanesh S. Molecular characterization of Toxocara spp. Eggs isolated from public parks and playgrounds in shiraz, Iran. J Helminthol. 2019;93:306-312.
8. Abbaszadeh Afshar MJ, Zahabiun F, Heydarian P, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of toxocariasis in Iran: Is it time to take it seriously? Acta Parasitol. 2020;65:569-584.
9. Samani N, Jamshidi Z. Climate change trend in fars province, Iran and its effect on groundwater crisis. Proceedings of the international conference of recent trends in environmental science and engineering (RTESE'17) Toronto, Canada–August. 2017:23-25
10. Najafi L, Omidian M, Rezaei Z, et al. Molecular and serological evaluation of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in a rural area of Fars province, southern Iran, as a source of Leishmania infantum infection. Vet Med Sci. 2021;7(4):1082-1089.
11. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM, Sarkari B, Uga S. Evaluation of Toxocara cati excretory–secretory larval antigens in serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. J Clin Lab Anal. 2016;30:248-253.
12. Eslahi AV, Badri M, Khorshidi A, et al. Prevalence of Toxocara and toxascaris infection among human and animals in Iran with meta-analysis approach. BMC Infect Dis. 2020;20(1):20.
13. Mirani F, Naem S, Yakhchali M. Investigation of intestinal parasites in guardian and herding dogs of gilanegharb suburb, Iran. Int J Livest Res. 2016;6:39-43.
14. Sarvi S, Daryani A, Sharif M, et al. Domestic dog as a human health hazard in north of Iran. J Parasit Dis. 2016;40:930-934.
15. Rostami A, Riahi SM, Hofmann A, et al. Global prevalence of Toxocara infection in dogs. Adv Parasitol. 2020;109:561-583.
16. Overgaauw PA, Nederland V. Aspects of Toxocara epidemiology: Toxocarosis in dogs and cats. Crit Rev Microbiol. 1997;23:233-251.
17. Burke TM, Roberson EL. Prenatal and lactational transmission of Toxocara canis and Ancylostoma caninum: Experimental infection of the bitch before pregnancy. Int J Parasitol. 1985;15:71-75.
18. Dubinský P, Havasiova-Reiterova K, Peťko B, Hovorka I, Tomašovičová O. Role of small mammals in the epidemiology of toxocariasis. Parasitology. 1995;110(Pt 2):187-193.
19. Mikaeili F, Mirhendi H, Hosseini M, Asgari Q, Kia EB. Toxocara nematodes in stray cats from shiraz, southern Iran: Intensity of infection and molecular identification of the isolates. Iran J Parasitol. 2013; 8(4):593-600.
20. Zibaei M, Sadjjadi SM, Sarkari B. Prevalence of Toxocara cati and other intestinal helminths in stray cats in Shiraz, Iran. Trop Biomed. 2007;24:39-43.
21. Motazedian H, Mehrabani D, Tabatabaee S, Pakniat A, Tavalali M. Prevalence of helminth ova in soil samples from public places in Shiraz. East Mediterr Health J, 2006; 12 (5):562-565.
22. Ramirez-Barrios RA, Barboza-Mena G, Muñoz J, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs under veterinary care in maracaibo, venezuela. Vet Parasitol. 2004;121:11-20.
23. Kirkpatrick CE. Epizootiology of endoparasitic infections in pet dogs and cats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital. Vet Parasitol. 1988;30:113-124.
24. Razmi GR. Survey of dogs’parasites in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2009;4(4):48-54.
25. Bahrami A, Doosti A, Nahravanian H, Noorian A, Asbchin S. Epidemiological survey of gastro-intestinal parasites in stray dogs and cats. Aust J Basic Appl Sci. 2011;5(9):1944-1948.
26. Yakhchali M, Ebn-Adamnezhad A. A study on Toxocara canis (ascaridida: Ascaridae) infection in dogs and soil of public parks of Piranshahr city, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. J Vet Res. 2014; 69(4):355-362.
27. Mirzaei M, Fooladi M. Canine toxocariasis in south east of Iran. Scientia Parasitologica. 2012;13:45-49.
28. Sardarian K, Maghsood A, Ghiasian S, Zahirnia A. Prevalence of zoonotic intestinal parasites in household and stray dogs in rural areas of Hamadan, western Iran. Trop Biomed. 2015;32:240-246.
29. Kohansal MH, Fazaeli A, Nourian A, Haniloo A, Kamali K. Dogs’ gastrointestinal parasites and their association with public health in Iran. J Vet Res. 2017;61:189-195.
30. Daryani A, Sharif M, Amouei A, Gholami S. Prevalence of Toxocara canis in stray dogs, northern Iran. Pak J Biol Sci. 2009;12:1031-5.
31. Meshgi B, Jamshidi S, Saadati D, Houshyar H, Bokaei S. An overview of Toxocara cat; infection metropolitan region of Tehran, Iran, and diagnostic methods. Iran J Vet Res. 2009: 4(1):53-58
32. Luty T. Prevalence of species of Toxocara in dogs, cats and red foxes from the Poznan Region, Poland. J Helminthol. 2001;75:153-156.
33. Malloy W, Embil J. Prevalence of Toxocara spp. And other parasites in dogs and cats in halifax, nova scotia. Can J Comp Med. 1978;42:29-31.
34. Kim Y-H, Huh S. Prevalence of Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina and Dirofilaria immitis in dogs in chuncheon, korea (2004). Korean J Parasitol. 2005;43:65-7.
35. Oluyomi AS. Prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites of domestic cats in ode-irele and oyo communities, southwest Nigeria. J Parasitol Vector Biol. 2012;4:7-13.
36. Yacob H, Ayele T, Fikru R, Basu A. Gastrointestinal nematodes in dogs from Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Vet Parasitol. 2007;148:144-148.
37. Papazahariadou M, Founta A, Papadopoulos E, Chliounakis S, Antoniadou-Sotiriadou K, Theodorides Y. Gastrointestinal parasites of shepherd and hunting dogs in the Serres Prefecture, Northern Greece. Vet Parasitol. 2007;148:170-173.
38. Engbaek K, Madsen H, Larsen SO. A survey of helminths in stray cats from copenhagen with ecological aspects. Z Parasitenkd. 1984;70:87-94.
39. Haralampidis S. Simbole sti melete ton parasitin tez gatas. Vet Med Diss Thessalonoki. 1977.
40. Noordin R, Smith HV, Mohamad S, Maizels RM, Fong MY. Comparison of igg-elisa and igg4-elisa for Toxocara serodiagnosis. Acta Trop. 2005;93:57-62.
41. Noordin R, Yunus MH, Farrizam SNT, Arifin N. Serodiagnostic methods for diagnosing larval toxocariasis. Adv Parasitol. 2020;109:131-152.
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| Issue | Vol 19 No 1 (2024) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v19i1.15191 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Toxocara Seroprevalence Dogs Rural area | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Pouryousef A, Hashemi SM, Omidian M, Mikaeili F, Sarkari B. Seroprevalence of Canine Toxocariasis in Three Rural Areas of Fars Province, Southern Iran. Iran J Parasitol. 2024;19(1):38-44.
