Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain)
<i>Toxocara</i> spp. is one of the most common zoonotic geohelminths in the world. Its infections are associated with the accidental ingestion of contaminated soil and affecting, especially children. In this study, feces, and soil samples from 14 public parks in the city of Valencia were...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/9/5/232 |
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| author | Belinda Rose Köchle María Magdalena Garijo-Toledo Lola Llobat José Sansano-Maestre |
| author_facet | Belinda Rose Köchle María Magdalena Garijo-Toledo Lola Llobat José Sansano-Maestre |
| author_sort | Belinda Rose Köchle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Toxocara</i> spp. is one of the most common zoonotic geohelminths in the world. Its infections are associated with the accidental ingestion of contaminated soil and affecting, especially children. In this study, feces, and soil samples from 14 public parks in the city of Valencia were analyzed. The Telemann method and a modified version of a sieving technique were used to process feces and soil, respectively. None of the fecal samples and 10.9% of soil samples from five parks (35.7%) tested positive for the presence of <i>Toxocara</i> eggs. The most contaminated areas were the canine sanitary parks (30.8% of the samples), followed by socialization areas for dogs (9.7%); no positive samples were found at children’s playgrounds. Our results suggest that most pets in Valencia are periodically dewormed, although additional preventive measures should be applied, since the risk of infection exists probably due to the presence of stray dogs and feral cats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:38:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff031757cf2c494d8c67d4573ea43c42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:38:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff031757cf2c494d8c67d4573ea43c422023-11-23T13:28:40ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812022-05-019523210.3390/vetsci9050232Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain)Belinda Rose Köchle0María Magdalena Garijo-Toledo1Lola Llobat2José Sansano-Maestre3Department of Animal Production and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Experimental Sciences, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Calle Guillem de Castro, 94, 46003 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Animal Production and Health, Public Veterinary Health and Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Calle Tirant Lo Blanc, 7, 46115 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Animal Production and Health, Public Veterinary Health and Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, CEU Universities, Calle Tirant Lo Blanc, 7, 46115 Valencia, SpainDepartment of Animal Production and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Experimental Sciences, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, Calle Guillem de Castro, 94, 46003 Valencia, Spain<i>Toxocara</i> spp. is one of the most common zoonotic geohelminths in the world. Its infections are associated with the accidental ingestion of contaminated soil and affecting, especially children. In this study, feces, and soil samples from 14 public parks in the city of Valencia were analyzed. The Telemann method and a modified version of a sieving technique were used to process feces and soil, respectively. None of the fecal samples and 10.9% of soil samples from five parks (35.7%) tested positive for the presence of <i>Toxocara</i> eggs. The most contaminated areas were the canine sanitary parks (30.8% of the samples), followed by socialization areas for dogs (9.7%); no positive samples were found at children’s playgrounds. Our results suggest that most pets in Valencia are periodically dewormed, although additional preventive measures should be applied, since the risk of infection exists probably due to the presence of stray dogs and feral cats.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/9/5/232parasitic zoonosespublic parkspetsSpain<i>Toxocara</i> |
| spellingShingle | Belinda Rose Köchle María Magdalena Garijo-Toledo Lola Llobat José Sansano-Maestre Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) Veterinary Sciences parasitic zoonoses public parks pets Spain <i>Toxocara</i> |
| title | Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) |
| title_full | Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) |
| title_short | Prevalence of <i>Toxocara</i> Eggs in Public Parks in the City of Valencia (Eastern Spain) |
| title_sort | prevalence of i toxocara i eggs in public parks in the city of valencia eastern spain |
| topic | parasitic zoonoses public parks pets Spain <i>Toxocara</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/9/5/232 |
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