A survey on the prevalence of Toxocara cati, Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina eggs in stray dogs and cats' faeces in Northwest of Iran: a potential risk for human health

Toxocara cati and Toxocara canis target mainly cats and dogs respectively. However, Toxoascaris leonine can infect both cats and dogs. T. cati and T. cards are zoonotic parasites which can lead to visceral larva migrans and ocular larva migrans in humans. 200 faecal specimens of animals (100 stray cats and 100 stray dogs) were examined in this study from which 155 (77.5%) were reported to be infected by these parasites. Fifty cats from Azarshahr, fifty cats from Marand, and one hundred dogs from Tabriz were examined in the present study of which 45 (90%), 43 (86%), and 67 (67%), respectively, were reported to be positive at least for one of the parasites. Cats studied in Marand were under 1 and 1-2 years' old which showed significantly higher rates of infection with endoparasites (100%) compared to the cats which were above 2 years (30%; p<0.001). Findings showed that there was no significant difference between males and females (p=1.00). The rates of infection with T. leonina among cats from Azarshar showed a significant decrease with age (P<0.001). However, the rates of infection with T. cati was not significant at the same age groups (P>0.001). The rates of infection with T. canis among dogs less than 1 year (80%) were significant (P<0.05) in comparison to the rates reported for doges with 1-2 years (52.27%) and dogs more than 2 years old (57.69%). There were no significant differences between the prevalence of infections based on the host gender and urban sites (P > 0.001). From the public health point of view one can say that the high rates of infection with T. cati, T. cards and T. leonina in stray cats and dogs are important and critical. So it is necessary to implement appropriate measures and control strategies in order to prevent and control the helminth infections in stray cats and dogs in the areas survey in Iran.