Larval toxocariasis and its clinical manifestation in childhood in the Slovak Republic

Results are presented of 90 children aged 1-15 years hospitalized with toxo cariasis. Blood count analysis and laboratory examination were done by rout ine clinical laboratory methods. Anti-Toxocara antibodies were detected in the serum of patients using an ELISA method. Demographic analysis of the ch ildren's families exposed to the risk of disease allowed estimation of age- specific rates for clinical toxocariasis. The probability of toxocaral infe ction and the intensity of its clinical manifestations in children are dete rmined by the epidemiology of this zoonosis and by the risk factors in the family. The presence of high titres of specific IgG antibodies in all age c ategories correlates with the clinical manifestations of toxocariasis. The highest admission rate is in the age categories of 3-5 years (43.3%) and 6- 10 years (36.7%). Laboratory findings show that the most conspicuous change s occur in the age category 1-5 years. The high percentage of seropositive dog-keeping and puppy-breeding families and the possibility of infection wi th repeated doses of larvae stimulate eosinophilia, which prevails in child ren under the age of five years. We present the percentage of patients whos e parameters showed deviations from the reference values for a particular a ge category. Analyses of laboratory indices and of clinical manifestations will contribute to the accuracy of diagnosis and effectiveness of treatment of this disease.