• Arash Pourgholaminejad, Habib Razipour, Peyman Heydarian, Keyhan Ashrafi, RoushanZahra AtrkarZADepartment of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran., and Meysam Sharifdini.
• Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
• Afr Health Sci. 2022 Sep 1; 22 (3): 617625617-625.

BackgroundToxocariasis is a serious zoonotic helminthic disease caused by the nematodes; Toxocara species.AimA cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of toxocariasis and related risk factors in eosinophilic children referred to the pediatrics hospital of Qazvin province northwest Iran during 2019-2020.MethodsA total of 200 blood samples were collected from eosinophilic children referred to the Qods Pediatrics Hospital. Demographic data, clinical symptoms, and dogs- and soil-contact history were collected. The presence of anti-Toxocara IgG antibody was evaluated by T. canis IgG ELISA kit.ResultsAnti-Toxocara IgG antibodies were detected in 14 (7%) of the total eosinophilic children. The seropositive rate of toxocariasis in hyper-eosinophilic children (>1000/mm3) was 15.1%, while the seropositivity was 4.1% in children with eosinophilia status (500-999/mm3). There was a significant association between the eosinophilia rate and seropositivity (P<0.05). Also, seroprevalence in asymptomatic eosinophilic children was 4.4%, while in children with clinical symptoms it was 17.1%. Accordingly, a statistically significant difference was found between clinical symptoms and Toxocara infection (P<0.05).ConclusionThe prevalence of toxocariasis in eosinophilic children is a serious health problem in the study area. Therefore, serologic evaluation for the diagnosis of Toxocara infection is recommended for eosinophilic children.© 2022 Pourgholaminejad A et al.

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