Seroepidemiology of Toxocariasis in a Yucpa Amerindian Community from the Perija Mountains, Western Venezuela

The aim of this study was to determine the Toxocara spp infection seroprevalence in an Amerindian community from western Venezuela, identifying the effect of socio-cultural changes on the risk factors. 75.4% of the community, 110 individuals, were studied. Blood samples were gathered by venous punct...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Odelis Díaz Suárez, María Eugenia García, Fabiola Meléndez, Jesús Estévez
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Spanish
Published: Universidad del Zulia,Facultad de Medicina,Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales 2010
Subjects:
seroepidemiología
toxocariasis
indígenas
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Arctic
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/ea736b311be449ce9481d7df025f6cbf
Description
Summary:The aim of this study was to determine the Toxocara spp infection seroprevalence in an Amerindian community from western Venezuela, identifying the effect of socio-cultural changes on the risk factors. 75.4% of the community, 110 individuals, were studied. Blood samples were gathered by venous puncture. Determination of anti-Toxocara spp antibodies was carried out using a commercial ELISA technique. The overall prevalence was 21.7%. Higher prevalence was observed in the age group >50 years old (37.5%). There were no statistically significant differences with regard to sex. The prevalence found was higher than that of an urban population and lower than in other indigenous communities. The transculturization process in this indigenous community is a risk factor for Toxocara spp infection.

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