Antonopoulos Alistair, Giannelli Alessio, Morgan Eric R, Charlier Johannes
Kreavet, Kruibeke, Belgium.
Queens University, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2024 May 21;5:100180. doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100180. eCollection 2024.
Toxocariasis is a parasitic zoonotic infection caused by spp., ascarid nematodes of companion animals (dogs and cats) affecting people in both high-income and low/middle-income countries. Toxocariasis can manifest as several distinct syndromes. The most frequent, often termed common toxocariasis, is a self-limiting and mild febrile illness. Ocular and visceral are severe disease manifestations affecting the eye and other internal organs, respectively, but their reported occurrence is rare. The vast majority of symptomatic cases are thought due to common toxocariasis, which has also been associated with cognitive impairment in children. Few studies to date have sought to quantity the health burden of toxocariasis in humans. In this study we provide a preliminary estimation using the Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) approach. We estimate a total of 23,084 DALYs are lost annually in 28 selected countries due to common toxocariasis. Extrapolating based on a global average seroprevalence rate of 19%, we estimate 91,714 DALYs per year are lost across all countries due to toxocariasis, of which 40,912 are attributable to less severe forms, i.e. common toxocariasis, and 50,731 to cognitive impairment in children. Clinically diagnosed and reported ocular and visceral represent a small proportion of estimated total health burden. We also found a positive correlation at national level between prevalence in cats or dogs and seroprevalence in humans, but no correlation between estimated soil contamination and seroprevalence in humans. Finally, we estimate the potential economic impact of toxocariasis in selected countries at 2.5 billion USD per annum, from costs of medical treatment and lost income. These preliminary estimates should serve as a call to action for further research and evidence-based measures to tackle toxocariasis.
弓蛔虫病是一种由弓蛔虫属引起的寄生虫人畜共患感染，弓蛔虫属是伴侣动物（狗和猫）的蛔虫线虫，在高收入国家和低收入/中等收入国家均会感染人类。弓蛔虫病可表现为几种不同的综合征。最常见的，通常称为普通弓蛔虫病，是一种自限性的轻度发热疾病。眼部和内脏型弓蛔虫病是分别影响眼睛和其他内部器官的严重疾病表现，但据报告其发生率很低。绝大多数有症状的病例被认为是由普通弓蛔虫病引起的，普通弓蛔虫病也与儿童认知障碍有关。迄今为止，很少有研究试图量化弓蛔虫病对人类的健康负担。在本研究中，我们使用伤残调整生命年（DALY）方法进行了初步估计。我们估计，在28个选定国家，由于普通弓蛔虫病，每年总共损失23,084个DALY。根据全球平均血清阳性率19%进行推断，我们估计所有国家每年因弓蛔虫病损失91,714个DALY，其中40,912个归因于不太严重的形式，即普通弓蛔虫病，50,731个归因于儿童认知障碍。临床诊断和报告的眼部和内脏型弓蛔虫病在估计的总健康负担中占很小比例。我们还发现在国家层面，猫或狗的患病率与人类血清阳性率之间存在正相关，但估计的土壤污染与人类血清阳性率之间没有相关性。最后，我们估计弓蛔虫病在选定国家的潜在经济影响为每年25亿美元，包括医疗费用和收入损失。这些初步估计应呼吁采取行动，开展进一步研究并采取基于证据的措施来应对弓蛔虫病。
