SOIL CONTAMINATION BY Toxocara spp. EGGS OF PUBLIC PARKS IN CENTRAL AND PERIURBAN AREAS OF MIRANTE DO PARANAPANEMA, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

Abstract

In order to compare the environmental contamination of central and periurban public areas from Mirante do Paranapanema, São Paulo, Brazil, by Toxocara spp. eggs, samples of 250g of soil were collected from five different sites from 13 public parks. Six parks were located in the central area and six in the periurban area from the municipality. Two aliquots of 10 g were analyzed using the technique of centrifuge-flotation in sodium nitrate. The contamination was observed in 76.9% of parks. Eggs were recovery from all the places from periurban area, but only in 50% out of the central places were contaminated. There were no significant differences between the number of children neither the dogs in the parks (p>0.05), however, the number of contaminated samples in outskirts was higher than central area (p<0.05). Thirty-three per cent of the eggs were available, and 15.15% had moving larva. The results point out the risks of infection of the population, by Toxocara spp., especially in the inhabitants of periurban areas.