Seroprevalence of Toxocariasis among children 5-15 years-old in Bandar Abbas, South of Iran

Introduction: Human Toxocariasis is a zoonotic helminthic infection caused by migration of larval stage of Toxocara canis and Toxocara catti (T.canis and T.catti) that mainly affects children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of anti-Toxocara antibody IgG in serums of 5-15-years-old children referred to Bandar Abbas and rural parts of nearby health centers. Along with Antibody detection, complete blood count (CBC) performed for hallmark of migratory parasites, eosinophil cells. Methods: This study was designed to detect the anti-Toxocara antibodies in children in Bandar Abbas, Iran. In this study, ELISA (IBL kit), method on serum of 5-15 years old children who had already been examined by physicians to record signs and symptoms relevant to Toxocariasis was performed. Results: The frequency of anti-Toxocara antibody was 0.9%9 (6.650 cases) with no significant gender differences. Eosinophilia (blood eosinophil count higher than 600/mm3) was significantly related to the presence of a positive ELISA results. Conclusion: Bandar Abbas has a warm and humid tropical climate. Transmission of zoonotic parasite can be halted or diminished in these conditions. Low frequency of infected cases and rare positive serology results, along with other studies in other tropical regions confirm the effects of environmental conditions on parasite life cycle.