Prevalence of parasites in parks in Giresun

Aim: Infections that pass from animals to humans are called "zoonosis". Animals play a large role in the spread of zoonoses. In Turkey and other developing countries, there is an increase reported in the number of stray cats and dogs. The majority of stray cats and dogs freely defecate in open parks or those who feed dogs at home allow them to defecate within parks. In this way, parks act as a source for parasitic diseases that are transmitted through cat and dog feces. Dog feces not being collected by owners and the lack of feces bins, bags or special toilets for collection of these in parks cause spread of eggs and cysts of parasites in these areas. In this study, considering that parks are a risk in terms of transmission of parasitic infections, soil samples collected from parks and playgrounds in Giresun province were investigated for the presence of parasites. Additionally, the aim was to research the efficacy of different diagnostic methods. Material and Method: Soil samples were collected from Gençlik Park, Afyonkarahisar Şehitlik Forest, Cumhuriyet Park, Taşbaşı Park and Giresun Castle Park, areas with dense animal and human populations, from February 2017 to May 2017. Samples were investigated in terms of parasites at Ordu University, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Parasitology Laboratory. Samples were investigated by direct examination, zinc sulfate flotation and formalin-ether sedimentation. Results: The parasites observed in the study were Toxocara spp. eggs, Ascaris spp. eggs, Taenia spp. eggs, Hymenolepis spp. eggs, Trichuris spp. eggs, Enterobius vermicularis eggs, Entamoeba coli and various larvae. Conclusion: This study noted the potential parasites that threaten human health in parks. In terms of parasites that may be transmitted in parks, care should be taken that children playing in sandpits wash their hands carefully. Again, individuals working in parks should be given the necessary training and the use of gloves should be mandatory to prevent contamination. Additionally, it was concluded that information meetings about transmission routes and protection from parasites should be held in coordination with the municipality, university and public institutions.