Abstract
The study determined the seroprevalence of Toxocara canis infection among children attending four selected health facilities in the Central Region of Ghana. Cross-sectional study. Sera from 566 children aged 1-15 years attending four selected health facilities in the Central Region of Ghana between July and September 2012 was used in a Toxocara excretory-secretory antigen-based ELISA to detect serum IgG. A short questionnaire was designed to obtain data on respondents as to age, gender, educational level, locality of residence, habits of washing of fruits, vegetable and hands before eating, keeping of pet (dogs or cats), and history of playing with soil and pets. Clinical information was also collected. Associations between sero-positivity and age group, gender, risk factors, educational level and other variables were determined by Chi square test. The overall sero-prevalence was 53.5% (n=566). Age, educational level and hospital visited were significantly associated with sero-positivity (p< 0.05). Children with history of playing with soil (χ(2)=9.03, p=0.003), pet-keeping (χ(2)=14.77, p=0.001) and not washing hands with soap before eating (χ(2)=5.82, p=0.016) were significantly associated with sero-positivity. The sero-prevalence of T. canis infection in children in the study was high. The children should be educated to desist from risk factors such as playing with soil and pets and be encouraged to ensure proper personal hygiene.
Highlights
Human toxocariasis is a zoonosis caused by larval stages of Toxocara canis and, less frequently, by T. cati, the roundworms of dogs and cats, respectively.[1]
The Odds ratio (OR) were significant for the 6-10 year age group, children in kindergarten (KG), primary or junior high schools (JHS), and for those visiting Elmina Health Centre and Twifo-Praso Government Hospital, compared to the respective referent categories (Table 2)
Our finding of a seroprevalence of 53.5% in children in the Central Region of Ghana was relatively higher than those reported in Orang Asli aborigines in Malaysia (29.3%)[18] and in Nigeria (30.4%15 and 21.5%14) but lower than those reported in healthy adults in Indonesia (68.0%)[19] and Nepal (81.0%).[21]
Summary
Human toxocariasis is a zoonosis caused by larval stages of Toxocara canis and, less frequently, by T. cati, the roundworms of dogs and cats, respectively.[1]. Humans become infected when they accidentally ingest embryonated Toxocara eggs containing the infective larvae. These parasites cannot develop into adult forms in humans and are restricted to larval forms, migrating through the soft tissues for months and even years and causing local or systemic inflammatory reactions in the affected organ.[4] Symptoms shown by infected persons depend on the organs affected and the magnitude of infection[5] resulting in several clinical forms of human toxocariasis. Smith and colleagues consider that human toxocariasis should be classified in three major forms: visceral larva migrans, ocular toxocariasis, and covert toxocariasis.[6]
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