Soil contamination with geohelminths in children’s play areas in Szczecin, Poland

Abstract

The presence of invasive forms of parasites in the soil represents a potential threat to public health, especially for children. The aim of the study was to determine the degree of contamination with geohelminth eggs of soil samples collected from sandpits and playgrounds in the Szczecin area. The findings showed overall prevalence of soil samples contaminated with geohelminth eggs in the soil and sand of play areas in Szczecin at 41.4%. Four species of parasites have been identified: Toxocara spp., Toxascaris leonina, Dipylidium caninum and Trichuris spp. The greatest proportion of infected samples from sandpits contained Toxocara spp. eggs, comprising 22.7% of samples; however, the dominant parasite found in the samples from the play areas was Toxascaris leonina (28.6%). As contamination of the soil with parasite eggs constitutes a risk of infection with parasitic diseases in humans, it is necessary to monitor the presence of geohelminth eggs in soil and to implement activities aimed at prevention of their occurrence.