Investigation of Zoonotic Helminths in Children Playgrounds in Sivas Province

Human toxocariasis is categorized as a neglected parasitic disease by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease is more prevalent in children than adults because children are more frequently exposed to the eggs of T. canis and T. cati which are the etiological agents of human toxocariasis during playing outside. The aim of this study was to research the presence of helminth species in children playgrounds in Sivas using microscopic and molecular techniques. For this purpose, 84 sand samples were taken from 25 children playgrounds from July 2020 to July 2021. Moreover, 68 stool samples that belong to cats, dogs, and red foxes were collected from and around children playgrounds. Toxocara spp. eggs were found in five sand samples. According to PCR results, T. cati was detected in three sand samples while T. canis was found in two sand samples. Toxascaris leonina was detected only in one dog stool sample, whereas no parasite species were found in cat stool samples. The eggs of Toxocara canis, Acanthocephala, T. leonina, Capillaria spp. were found in red fox stool samples. To the best of our knowledge, children playgrounds were researched for the first time in terms of zoonotic helminth species in Sivas.