The Significance of Toxocara Eggs on the Hair of Dogs and Cats

The significance of Toxocara eggs on the hair of dogs and cats

Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati are gastrointestinal nematode parasites of dogs and cats respectively. The distribution of these ubiquitous helminths ranges from the temperate industrialised world to the tropics. T. canis is regarded as one of the most important zoonotic infections in humans, whereas the role of T. cati in human disease is less well understood. Humans act as paratenic hosts of Toxocara spp, whereby larvae do not develop to adulthood in the intestine but undergo tissue migration. Contact with soil contaminated with infective (embryonated) eggs is considered to be the primary route of transmission of Toxocara spp. to humans. This is, in part, due to the fact that Toxocara eggs are not infective upon shedding but require a period of time, under appropriate environmental conditions, to develop to infectivity. Other routes of transmission include ingestion of infective larvae in the tissues of other paratenic hosts (e.g. chicken) and the ingestion of contaminated raw vegetables or fruit. More recently, Toxocara eggs have been detected in the hair of dogs suggesting a possible role for direct contact with dogs as an alternative route of transmission. […]