The Study of Soil Contamination with Toxocara Eggs in Arak Public Parks, 2015

Toxocariasis is a parasitic disease caused by presence of Toxocara larva in human body. Soil as a reservoir maintained eggs of parasite and has important role in dissemination of disease because dogs and cats defecate eggs of parasite by feces. Despite there are large number of stray cats and dogs in urban areas such as Arak city, we need to collect information about soil pollution in public places. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate soil contamination with Toxocara eggs in public parks in Arak city.
In this cross-sectional study, 60 soil samples were collected from 15 public parks in the Arak city during the summer 2015. The soil samples were provided by flotation method and examined by microscope.
The results of this study showed that 4 (26.6%) of 15 parks were infected with Toxocara eggs. The highest rate of infection was observed in the walking and picnic site of parks. Also, in this study, two contaminated parks were located in the center and two parks were located in the southeastern of city.
Considering that soil contamination with Toxocara eggs was high in Arak city, it seems that the health authorities should design and implement programs in order to prevent human infection.