Hair Contamination of Sheepdog and Pet Dogs with Toxocara cani s 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.