hair contamination of sheepdog and pet dogs with toxocara canis eggs

Background: We tried to investigate the hair contamination of pet dogs and farm sheepdog with Toxocara eggs in terms of the different sex and age groups in north-west of Iran (Urmia and its sub­urbs).Methods: Hair samples were collected from a total of 138 pet and farm sheepdogs from November 2008 to June 2009 in Urmia City and the suburb (West Azerbaijan-Iran) and examined for the pres­ence of T. canis eggs.Results: T. canis eggs found in 60 samples altogether (pet and shepherd dogs) showed a contamina­tion rate of 36.2%. The number of observed T. canis eggs in each microscope field was va­ried from 1 to > 400. The age of the dog was found a significant factor to influence the prevalence and intensity of contamination, with 82% of all the eggs recovered from puppies (six months and younger). Additionally, the numbers of eggs in farm sheepdogs were significantly higher than pet dogs (P<0.05).Conclusions: This report shows that direct contact with T. canis infected dogs, particularly puppies from shepherd dogs, may pose a serious hazard to human. Besides, as they may harbor a considera­ble number of eggs on their hair, they can contaminate the soil and the environment.