A Seroepidemiological Survey of Toxocariasis among Eosinophilia Patients in Chungcheongnam-do.
10.3347/kjp.2012.50.3.249
- Author:
Min SEO
1
;
Sung Chul YOON
Author Information
1. Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea.
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- Keywords:
Toxocara canis;
Toxocara cati;
toxocariasis;
eosinophilia;
Chungcheongnam-do
- MeSH:
Adolescent;
Adult;
Aged;
Animals;
Antigens, Helminth/*blood;
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay;
Eosinophilia/*etiology;
Female;
Humans;
Male;
Middle Aged;
Republic of Korea/epidemiology;
Seroepidemiologic Studies;
Toxocariasis/*epidemiology;
Young Adult
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2012;50(3):249-251
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
There have been several reports on the relationship between toxocariasis and eosinophilia, but all have been limited to the areas of Seoul or Gangwon-do. In the present study, we investigated the seroprevalence of toxocariasis among eosinophilia patients in Chungcheongnam-do, the central district of Korea. Among the 101 patients tested, 51 (50.5%) were identified as positive by Toxocara ELISA, and 46 (45.5%) were confidently diagnosed with toxocariasis because of absence of any other cause of eosinophilia. Whereas 22 of 42 seropositive patients (52.3%) had a recent history of consuming raw livers, especially the cow liver, only 1 of 25 seronegative patients (4%) had done so (P<0.01). From these results, we could confirm that toxocariasis is related to eosinophilia, and infer that ingestion of raw cow liver plays a vital role in the transmission of toxocariasis in Chungcheongnam-do.
