Epidemiological Study of Toxocar canis in Children under 14-Years-Old and Dogs in Zabol and Chabahar Districts, Southeast of Iran

The purpose of this study was seroepidemiological and parasitological assessment of infection in children and dogs in Zabol and Chabahar, Iran. This study was a descriptive-analytic study with a simple random sampling of children under 14 yr old, referring to urban, rural, and tribal laboratories of Zabol and Chabahar, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran in 2016. Demographic data, clinical, and laboratory conditions of patients were collected through interviews, questionnaires, and blood count measuring. The prevalence of IgG antibodies against was assessed by ELISA. eggs in dogs (as the original host) were also assessed by examining animal feces. Then the data were analyzed using SPSS 19 software and descriptive statistics, chi-square and ANOVA statistical tests. Totally, 364 patients were enrolled, of which 51.6% were female and mean±SD age of participants was 7.2 (±3.7) yr. IgG antibodies against was observed in 3.8% of cases. A significant association was found between the seroprevalence of and eosinophil ( =0.003) and red blood cell count ( =0.04). We also found a significant association between serological prevalence of and demographic parameters, such as city of residence ( =0.003), gender ( =0.04), consumption of vegetables =0.01), and the living place ( =0.04). Mean antibody titration was 2.2 ±1.1, with statistically significant difference among age groups ( =0.001). In addition, infection was positive in 27.5% of dogs living in the study areas. High risk of infection represented in patients referring to laboratories of Zabol and Chabahar. In addition, given the fact that dogs are the final hosts to transfer infection to humans, this study emphasizes the need to control the population of stray dogs in the region to prevent the development of disease in the human society.