SEROEPIDEMIOLOGY OF TOXOCARIASIS IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN

The seroprevalence of toxocariasis was investigated in 2129 school chi ldren ranging in age from 4 to 19 years. Infection, as measured by tit re, was found to be high compared to values obtained from children in other countries, with 31 % having a titre of greater than or equal to 1:50 and 3.1 % having titres of greater than or equal to 1:800. Relati onships between seroprevalence and host factors including age, sex and location, and risk factors including geophagia, thumbsucking and pet ownership were explored. Age was found to be a significant factor in r elation to infection with Toxocara. Males were significantly more infe cted than females, as were the inhabitants of rural schools versus urb an schools. The percentage of seropositive children varied widely from school to school. Geophagia and pet ownership were found to be signif icantly associated with toxocariasis. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the relative contribution of these factors to infection with Toxocara. While this analysis identified factors which were high ly significantly associated with Toxocara titre, the odds ratios were generally low indicating the low specificity of the model.