title: Influence of land use and meteorological factors on the spatial distribution of Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati eggs in soil in urban areas.
abstract: Soil which has been contaminated by Toxocara spp. eggs is considered as one of the main infection sources of Toxocariasis in animals and humans. The present study conducted a detailed investigation into the spatial patterns of Toxocara canis (T. canis) and Toxocara cati (T. cati) eggs in soil in urban area of northeastern Mainland China, and assessed the inter-relationships between meteorological factors, land use and the distribution of the Toxocara spp. eggs. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the determination of T. canis and T. cati eggs contamination in soil samples. Between April 2014 and May 2015, 9420 soil samples were subjected to PCR examination and 7027 sheep (74.6%) were determined to be positive for T. canis and T. cati eggs. Subsequently, we evaluated the effect of land use, and meteorological factors on the spatial distribution of T. canis and T. cati eggs based on a maximum entropy model. Jackknife analysis revealed that the area of residential land, wood and grass land and precipitation may influence the occurrence of T. canis and T. cati eggs in soil. Our findings indicate that land use and meteorological factors may be important variables affecting transmission of Toxocariasis and should be taken into account in the development of future surveillance programmes for Toxocariasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Surgery, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China. Electronic address: jhxiao1970@163.com.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology*; D014119:Toxocara / Q000502:physiology*; D017166:Toxocara canis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014120:Toxocariasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission*; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Eggs; Land use; Maximum entropy model; Soil contamination; Toxocara canis; Toxocara cati