Abstract
This research was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of Toxocara canis (T. canis) in children aged 3-13 years in Kütahya, to determine the presence of infected larvae in playground sandboxes, and to obtain a view of the general situation regarding visceral larva migrans (VLM) in the city. The blood sera of 119 children (54 girls, 65 boys) were tested for T. canis IgG, and 9 (7.6%) were found positive. In sand samples collected from playgrounds in nine different residential areas across the city, only two of them, in Inköy and Zafertepe neighborhoods, had T. canis larvae; in total, 3 of the 30 sand samples (10%) contained larvae. It is concluded that the main factor regarding VLM infection in children is outdoor playgrounds or playing areas.
Copyright and license
Copyright © 2010 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.