Toxocariasis and Co-infection With COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Toxocara infection is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that has remained undiagnosed in developing countries. The disease leads to many signs and symptoms such as fever, coughing or wheezing, belly pain, hepatomegaly, loss of appetite, rash, lymphadenopathy, red and painful eyes, strabismus, blurred or cloudy vision, and the like. Objective: The present study aimed at investigating the seroprevalence and other demographic parameters of toxocariasis among hospitalized patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) in Karaj district, Alborz province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was undertaken between March and September 2021. Ninety-two sera samples obtained from COVID-19 patients and 56 seemingly healthy individuals were tested for anti-Toxocara immunoglobulin G via an immunological assay (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA). The demographic characteristics of the participants were collected through a questionnaire. Results: The findings indicated that during the study period, the seroprevalence of toxocariasis in the case group was significantly higher than in the control group (15.2% vs. 3.6%). Among the 92 seropositive COVID-19 patients, 35.7% (5/14) were males and 64.3% (9/14) were females. No deaths were observed in the Toxocara-positive individuals with COVID-19. Conclusion: Toxocariasis is a worldwide zoonotic parasitic infection in developing countries. The findings of the present study revealed the importance of Toxocara spp. infection screening in COVID-19 patients, and simple empirical treatment can be life-saving in such positive cases.