Contamination of soil with Toxocara eggs in urban (Prague) and rural areas in the Czech Republic

Contamination of soil with feline and canine ascarid eggs in public parks, backyards and sand pits in Prague, Czech Republic was investigated in this work. Soil samples from shelters and rural areas were also collected. The comparison of soil from different areas (urban, rural, backyards and shelters) exhibited significant difference (chi(2) = 32.16, d.f. = 3 and p < 0.0001). The highest rate of contamination (45%) was found in backyards inhabited by feral cats. The eggs of Toxocara spp. were found in 20.4% of parks, 10% of shelters and 5% of rural samples. Mean egg density per sample from Prague parks was 6.2 eggs/100 g of soil. In 126 composite samples from children's and pits, the prevalence of Toxocara eggs was 11.90%. The number of eggs in positive samples varied from 2 to 22 (per 100 g). A high proportion (46.9%) of eggs was fully embryonated. There was no difference between the sand pits with or without formal exclusion of dogs (chi(2) = 0.6, d.f. = 1 and p < 0.0001). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.