Frequency of Toxocariasis Among Asthmatic Children in Northeastern Iran

Background: Toxocariasis is a zoonotic and telluric disease caused by the Toxocara species mostly in tropical areas. The relationship between toxocariasis and asthma has always been a subject of discussion. Objectives: This study evaluated the seroepidemiology of Toxocara among asthmatic children. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 150 children aged 3 - 12 years with asthma presentations, who were referred to Dr. Sheikh Hospital of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences from April 2017 to March 2018. Serum samples were tested for the presence of anti-Toxocara antibodies using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Positive sera were confirmed by the Western Blotting (WB) method. Results: Out of 150 asthmatic patients, Toxocara immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody responses were observed in two (1.3%) patients by ELISA and one (0.6%) patient by both ELISA and WB. Moreover, none of the patients was detected as hypereosinophilia. Conclusions: It seems there is no significant relationship between Toxocara infection and asthma in Northeastern Iran. These findings suggest the need for WB immunodiagnosis and ELISA using Toxocara antigens to improve human toxocariasis diagnosis in patients with asthma.