The Relationship of Public Park Accessibility to Dogs to the Presence of Toxocara Species Ova in the Soil

AVCIOĞLU H., BALKAYA İ.

VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES, cilt.11, sa.2, ss.177-180, 2011 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2011
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1089/vbz.2009.0244
  • Dergi Adı: VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.177-180
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This survey was conducted to determine prevalence of Toxocara spp. ova in public parks in Erzurum, Turkey. A total of 214 soil samples were collected from July 2007 to June 2008 in 36 public parks, of which 28 were unfenced and 8 were fenced. Prevalence of Toxocara spp. was 64.28% in unfenced public parks, while no contamination was observed fenced public parks (p < 0.001). Average number of Toxocara spp. ova was 1.43 per 50 g sand ranging from 1 to 7. Moreover, soils from unfenced public parks were contaminated with Taeniid spp. ova (3.12%). In conclusion, public parks and/or playgrounds should be fenced to prevent fecal contamination, suggesting that a more frequent surveillance should be performed and preventive measures should be taken and enforced by local governments to reduce likelihood of zoonoses in children.