Environmental Spp. Presence in Crowded Squares and Public Parks from San Juan Province, Argentina: A Call for a "One Health" Approach

Overview

Journal Front Med (Lausanne)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2023 Mar 6

PMID 36873864

Authors

Hector Gabriel Avila

Leonardo Sandon

Paola Emilce Anes

Sergio Andres Meli

Gustavo Adolfo Giboin

Veronica Mirtha Perez

Maria Victoria Periago

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Canine soil-transmitted helminth (cSTH) parasites need specific environmental conditions to complete their life cycle. and are the most important zoonotic cSTH, since they are the causal agents of human toxocariasis. Canine STHs are dispersed in feces from infected domestic and wildlife canines. In this study, the presence of STH in canine feces was evaluated in 34 crowded public parks and squares from San Juan Province (Argentina).

Methods: Fecal samples were collected during different seasons in 2021-2022 and analyzed by standard coprological methods, including Sheather and Willis flotation and Telemann sedimentation. InfoStat 2020, OpenEpi V. 3.01 and R and RStudio® were used for statistical analysis and QGIS 3.16.10 for mapping.

Results: From a total of 1,121 samples collected, 100 (8.9%) were positive for at least one intestinal parasite (IP) and three cSTH species were detected: spp., and . The most prevalent cSTH species was (64/1121; 0.057%), while the least prevalent was spp. (19/1121; 0.017%). The detection of spp. eggs was significantly different depending on the season. The geo-spatial variation of each cSTH per season is described.

Discussion: This is the first study in San Juan Province to identify environmental contamination of cSTHs in public areas. The specific localization of areas with the presence of cSTH eggs could provide information to guide strategies to reduce the cSTH infection burden in dogs and promote serological screening of the human population for spp. Given the zoonotic nature of spp. We hope this information will help to reinforce activities of control programs, focusing on the "One Health" approach.

References

Zendejas-Heredia P, Crawley A, Byrnes H, Traub R, Colella V . Zoonotic Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Free-Roaming Dogs, Kiribati. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021; 27(8):2163-2165. PMC: 8314807. DOI: 10.3201/eid2708.204900. View

Abou-El-Naga I . [Developmental stages and viability of Toxocara canis eggs outside the host]. Biomedica. 2018; 38(2):189-197. DOI: 10.7705/biomedica.v38i0.3684. View

Otero D, Alho A, Nijsse R, Roelfsema J, Overgaauw P, de Carvalho L . Environmental contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks and playground sandpits of Greater Lisbon, Portugal. J Infect Public Health. 2017; 11(1):94-98. DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2017.05.002. View

Traversa D . Are we paying too much attention to cardio-pulmonary nematodes and neglecting old-fashioned worms like Trichuris vulpis?. Parasit Vectors. 2011; 4:32. PMC: 3063211. DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-4-32. View

Ma G, Rostami A, Wang T, Hofmann A, Hotez P, Gasser R . Global and regional seroprevalence estimates for human toxocariasis: A call for action. Adv Parasitol. 2020; 109:275-290. DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2020.01.011. View

Benedetti G, Jokelainen P, Ethelberg S . Search term "One Health" remains of limited use to identify relevant scientific publications: Denmark as a case study. Front Public Health. 2022; 10:938460. PMC: 9368311. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.938460. View

Santarem V, Franco E, Kozuki F, Fini D, Prestes-Carneiro L . Environmental contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs in a rural settlement in Brazil. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2008; 50(5):279-81. DOI: 10.1590/s0036-46652008000500006. View

Safarov A, Mihalca A, Park G, Akramova F, Ionica A, Abdinabiev O . A Survey of Helminths of Dogs in Rural and Urban Areas of Uzbekistan and the Zoonotic Risk to Human Population. Pathogens. 2022; 11(10). PMC: 9610627. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101085. View

Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D . Dogs, cats, parasites, and humans in Brazil: opening the black box. Parasit Vectors. 2014; 7:22. PMC: 3914713. DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-22. View

10.

Brunaska M, Dubinsky P, Reiterova K . Toxocara canis: ultrastructural aspects of larval moulting in the maturing eggs. Int J Parasitol. 1995; 25(6):683-90. DOI: 10.1016/0020-7519(94)00183-o. View

11.

Azam D, Ukpai O, Said A, Abd-Allah G, Morgan E . Temperature and the development and survival of infective Toxocara canis larvae. Parasitol Res. 2011; 110(2):649-56. DOI: 10.1007/s00436-011-2536-8. View

12.

Traversa D, Frangipane di Regalbono A, Di Cesare A, La Torre F, Drake J, Pietrobelli M . Environmental contamination by canine geohelminths. Parasit Vectors. 2014; 7:67. PMC: 3929561. DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-67. View

13.

el Naga I . Toxocara canis: determination of the origin of antigenic materials released from infective larvae. J Egypt Soc Parasitol. 2001; 30(3):669-78. View

14.

Colella V, Traub R, Gasser R . Translational Research of Zoonotic Parasites: Toward Improved Tools for Diagnosis, Treatment and Control. Pathogens. 2021; 10(11). PMC: 8621207. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111416. View

15.

Massetti L, Wiethoelter A, McDonagh P, Rae L, Marwedel L, Beugnet F . Faecal prevalence, distribution and risk factors associated with canine soil-transmitted helminths contaminating urban parks across Australia. Int J Parasitol. 2022; 52(10):637-646. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2022.08.001. View

16.

Zhang X, Jian Y, Ma Y, Li Z, Fu Y, Cairang Z . Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Dog Faecal Samples from Public Environments in Qinghai Province, China. Pathogens. 2022; 11(11). PMC: 9696243. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11111240. View

17.

Jenkins D . Toxocara canis in Australia. Adv Parasitol. 2020; 109:873-878. DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2020.01.033. View

18.

Bojanich M, Alonso J, Caraballo N, Itati Scholler M, Lopez M, Garcia L . Assessment of the presence of Toxocara eggs in soils of an arid area in central-western Argentina. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2015; 57(1):73-6. PMC: 4325526. DOI: 10.1590/S0036-46652015000100010. View

19.

Etewa S, Abdel-Rahman S, El-Aal N, Fathy G, El-Shafey M, Ewis A . Geohelminths distribution as affected by soil properties, physicochemical factors and climate in Sharkyia governorate Egypt. J Parasit Dis. 2016; 40(2):496-504. PMC: 4927514. DOI: 10.1007/s12639-014-0532-5. View

20.

Rocha S, Pinto R, Floriano A, Teixeira L, Bassili B, Martinez A . Environmental analyses of the parasitic profile found in the sandy soil from the Santos municipality beaches, SP, Brazil. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2011; 53(5):277-81. DOI: 10.1590/s0036-46652011000500007. View