Abstract
Toxocariasis is a zoonosis caused by Toxocara canis and T. cati . The mematoda infect dogs and cats, respectively. Human become infected particularly by accidental ingestion of larvated eggs present in the soil. The disease has a cosmopolitan distribution, but it is more frequent in disadvantaged populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the environmental contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs in a rural community from the Mirante do Paranapanema, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Soil samples from 31 out of 105 plots were collected in eight different places on each house. The samples were submitted to flotation technique in zinc sulphate solution (d=1.20 g/cm3). Eggs of Toxocara spp. were recovered in 12 (38.7%) out of the 31 plots. At least one dog was registered in 26 (83.87%) of the 31 plots examined and at least one cat in 21 (67.74%). In 15 (48.38%) plots, the presence of both dogs and cats was observed, but no relation between the presence of pets in the plots and soil contamination (p=1.0; Odds Ratio= 0.611; CI 95%= 0.03457-10.802). However the environmental contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs associated to the poor conditions of the inhabitants can be an important risk factor for the human population to ocular or visceral larva migrans.
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