ESPAÑOL

Identification of Toxocara canis eggs in soil samples from three parks in Cuenca-Ecuador

Abstract

Toxocariasis is a pathology caused by nematodes of the genus Toxocara, which include a little more than 30 species; being only two of them considered of importance in humans, T. canis and T. catis (Huapaya et al., 2009), generating pathologies of importance as is the case of the known pathologies caused by: Ocular Larva Migrans Ocular [IMO], Visceral Larva Migrans [IMV] and covert toxocariasis [TC], due to soil ingestion or through food contamination with second instar larval eggs(2). As objective of the research presented is to determine the presence of Toxocara canis [T. canis] eggs, in soil samples from three parks in the city of Cuenca, through the collection of one hundred and twenty samples obtained from the soil of parks in the city: el Paraíso, del Ángel and Narancay. The study was divided into two phases; in phase I: samples were collected from the experimental units [UE], on three different weekdays, collecting 40 samples per park, divided into 20 samples for each collection and repetition, extracting 300 g of soil in each one, the samples were homogenized in a sterile container and transported to the laboratory for study; in phase II: the study of the samples was carried out using the Modified Sloss technique. The results obtained show that there is a greater distribution of canine feces in the periphery, where the specific parasitic prevalence for Toxocara canis is (P = 0.36), being this parasite the one with the highest presence (P < 0.05), with respect to other species of interest.