Human Toxocariasis: Secondary Data Analysis - Abstract
Introduction: Toxocariasis is a helminthiasis caused by Toxocara ssp., and result of the migration of infective larvae into the visceral, causing disease. There are 21 species belonging to the Toxocara genus, but only T. canis and T. cati are important in public health.
Objetctive: To produce a review of the literature about human toxocariasis using the methodology of secondary data analysis. The aspects approached were morphobiological, immunological, pathological, clinical, and epidemiological to comprehend the evolution and therapeutical procedures of this helminthiasis.
Methods: The search period of the articles covered the last 70 years. Publications in different languages took part on the review and they are available online. The sources used to obtain these documents were Mediline, Lilacs, PubMed, Google Scholar, and SciELO. The key words used to select the scientific documents were toxocariasis, T. canis and T. cati, epidemiology, clinical diagnosis, serological diagnosis, clinical symptoms, and treatment.
Results: 217 complete articles entered the review; they were all related to human. Conclusions: Human toxocariasis occurs in various countries; however, the data on this disease are fragmented, requiring publications that gather all data about the morphology, clinical symptoms, immunological response, diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology and control of this parasitosis. The real frequency of this disease is yet unknown worldwide as there are no studies on human toxocariasis in all countries. The techniques for diagnosis are limited, lacking an easy access kit for the diagnosis with high specificity and sensitivity for the disease.