Contaminación de Toxocara spp. en parques de la ciudad de Villavicencio

Daniela Rey; Juan Pablo Márquez Aguilera; Linda Flor Torres Díaz; Chaira Liz Angelica Vásquez Turriago; Adolfo Vásquez Trujillo; Dumar Alexander Jaramillo Hernández

doi:10.30972/vet.3719055

Authors

Daniela Rey Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ciencias Animales, Grupo de investigación en Farmacología Experimental y Medicina Interna – Élite, Programa de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0311-9768
Juan Pablo Márquez Aguilera Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ciencias Animales, Grupo de investigación en Farmacología Experimental y Medicina Interna – Élite, Programa de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4229-5822
Linda Flor Torres Díaz Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ciencias Animales, Grupo de investigación en Farmacología Experimental y Medicina Interna – Élite, Programa de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9966-3191
Chaira Liz Angelica Vásquez Turriago Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Doctorado en Ciencias Agrarias. Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia. https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3447-7354
Adolfo Vásquez Trujillo Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ciencias Animales, Laboratorio de Microbiología. Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3671-9223
Dumar Alexander Jaramillo Hernández Universidad de los Llanos, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Ciencias Animales, Laboratorio de Farmacología. Villavicencio 1745, Meta, Colombia. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1377-1747

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30972/vet.3719055

Keywords:

Ecoepidemiology, Geohelminthiasis, Public health, Zoonosis

Abstract

Toxocara spp. is the most prevalent zoonotic geohelminth worldwide and the causative agent of toxocariosis, a globally neglected disease. Dogs and cats serve as the definitive hosts and are the main disseminators of embryonated eggs through their feces. In Colombia, the department of Meta lacks epidemiological data on this parasite. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of Toxocara spp. eggs in public parks and to assess the relationship between parasite load, park area, and socioeconomic stratum across the ten communes of Villavicencio city. Fresh fecal samples were collected from 51 randomly selected public parks distributed among the ten communes. Samples were processed using the Kato-Katz technique to quantify Toxocara spp. eggs per gram of feces (epg). Prevalence and epg were analyzed by commune; epg was correlated with park area, and prevalence was compared among socioeconomic strata using the prevalence ratio (PR) and Chi-square (X²) test, with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Toxocara spp. eggs were detected in 60.7% (31/51, median: 73.75, range: 0-248.8 epg) of the parks. Higher contamination levels were found in communes 4 (87.5%, 7/8, median: 160, range: 20-260 epg) and 5 (72.7%, 8/11, median: 140, range: 0-280 epg). No significant correlation was observed between epg and park area (Spearman, p = 0.326). Parks located in socioeconomic stratum 3 showed a higher prevalence (73%, 11/15) than those in the other strata, although the association was not statistically significant (PR: 1.46; 95% CI: 0.52-4.1; X² p = 0.34). The high level of Toxocara contamination in Villavicencio’s public parks underscores the need for improved control measures and responsible pet ownership to reduce environmental and public health risks.

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