Abstract
Aim of this study is to find the seroprevalence of specific anti - Toxocara IgG antibodies among patients with inflammatory heart disease and to evaluate the significance of this parasite as a possible etiological agent of such pathology. We performed a serological study of 41 patients with heart disease (myocarditis, pericarditis and endocarditis) for presence of specific anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies. We used ELISA for primary screening, and Western blot as a confirmatory method. Presence of specific anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies in ELISA was detected in three (7.3%) of the serum samples, and another two (4.9%) were with borderline values. These serum samples were further examined in Western blot and three of them (7.3%) displayed disease-specific bands. We do not in any way claim that in these cases Toxocara infection is the cause of inflammatory heart disease, but the data from the study shows that such a link is possible.
Highlights
Toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonotic disease caused by the migration and presence of animal nematode larvae of the Toxocaridae family, most often by the species Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782) and Toxocara cati (Schrank, 1788), in human organs and tissues
Aim of this study is to find the seroprevalence of specific anti - Toxocara IgG antibodies among patients with inflammatory heart disease and to evaluate the significance of this parasite as a possible etiological agent of such pathology
We do not in any way claim that in these cases Toxocara infection is the cause of inflammatory heart disease, but the data from the study shows that such a link is possible
Summary
Toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonotic disease caused by the migration and presence of animal nematode larvae of the Toxocaridae family, most often by the species Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782) and Toxocara cati (Schrank, 1788), in human organs and tissues. Second stage larvae hatch from the swallowed eggs and through haematogenic route reach different organs and tissues, causing various pathological changes with a variety of clinical symptoms [1]. There are two major syndromes related to toxocariasis - Visceral Larva Migrans (VLM) with internal organ involvement [1] and Ocular Larva Migrans (OLM), which damages the eye [5, 6]. The same authors summarized the published data on toxocariasis-related heart conditions, describing 24 cases, their clinical presentation, complications, treatment and outcome.
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