Prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs in the soil of public parks in Ankara,Turkey

One hundred and seventy soil samples from forty-six public parks in Ankara area were examined to determine the level of contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs. 30,6 % of the 170 soil samples were contaminated with Toxocara spp. eggs. The number of eggs in the positive soil samples varied from 1 to 10. A high proportion of the eggs was fully embryonated. The findings demonstrate the common occurrence of these eggs in locations likely to be important in the transmission of visceral larva migrans. Of 19 fecal collected, 5 (26,3%) contained Toxocara spp. eggs. Eggs of Ancylostomidae, Toxascaris leonina, Trichuris spp., Taenia spp. and Enterobius vermicularis were also recovered from 17.6, 4.1, 2.4, 1.8 and 1.2 % of soil samples, respectively.