The Korean Journal of Parasitology  2012;50(3):249-251

doi:10.3347/kjp.2012.50.3.249

A Seroepidemiological Survey of Toxocariasis among Eosinophilia Patients in Chungcheongnam-do.

Min SEO 1 ; Sung Chul YOON

Affiliations

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Keywords

Toxocara canis; Toxocara cati; toxocariasis; eosinophilia; Chungcheongnam-do

Country

Republic 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.