Parasitic contamination of urban and rural environments in the Slovak Republic: dog’s excrements as a source

The objective of this study was to determine the possibility of soil contamination with propagative stages of intestinal endoparasites at different public places (public parks, playgrounds, sandpits, sidewalks, road sides). In a one-year-study, totally 578 dog’s faecal samples from 8 towns (Košice, Trebišov, Veľké Kapušany, Prešov, Snina, Levoča, Zvolen and Trenčín) and 3 villages (Dlhé Stráže, Dravce, Valaliky) were examined for the presence of parasitic germs. 29.9 % of faecal samples were positive. Eight different species of intestinal parasites with following incidence were detected: Toxocara canis (11.9 %), Trichuris vulpis (8.5 %), Ancylostomatidae (8.1 %), Taenia spp. (4.0 %), Toxascaris leonina (3.1 %), Capillaria spp. (1.0 %), Dipylidium caninum (0.2 %) and Coccidia oocysts (0.2 %). Additionally 285 sandpits were examined. Sand samples were collected from Košice (136), Zvolen (38), Trenčín (36), Prešov (30), Veľké Kapušany (24), Snina (15), and village Valaliky (6). The parasitic eggs occurence in the sandpits was as follows: Toxocara spp. (11.8 %), Ancylostomatidae (1.1 %), Taenia type (0.7 %) and Trichuris spp. (0.4 %). The occurrence of Toxocara spp. varied between the urban and rural environments. The highest number of Toxocara spp. was found in village Valaliky (33.3 %) whereas cities showed lesser prevalence (Prešov — 10 %, Košice — 7.4 %, Trenčín — 5.6 %, Zvolen — 5.3 %, Veľké Kapušany — 4.2 %). The epidemiological aspects and health risk factors are also discussed.