Optimización de una metodología para el aislamiento y detección molecular de huevos de Toxocara canis en muestras de suelo

Toxocariasis is a common  zoonosis  in developing countries, such  as Colombia. Accidental ingestion  of Toxocara sp. eggs represents the principal  form of transmission in humans. Therefore, monitoring of environmental contamination is the better strategy for preventing the toxocariasis. The objective  was to optimize a methodology for assessing soil contamination caused by Toxocara canis eggs. The soil samples  were collected  from a public  park in the city of Barranquilla (Colombia). The Toxocara eggs were isolated by centrifugation/flocculation with MgSO4  (r = 1.20),  ZnSO4 (r= 1.18),  NaCl  (r= 1.18)  and Sheather  solution  (r= 1.27).  The parasite  DNA was extracted  and T. canis and subsequent nucleotide sequencing. ANOVA analysis indicates a statistically significant difference (p<0,05) between the DNA concentration obtained with the flocculation used to isolate eggs. The PCR-ITS-2 analysis  showed  positive  results for T. canis in 7 out of 13 samples examined (53.84 %). In conclusion, it is s   T. canis