Global Prevalence Estimates of Toxascaris leonina Infection in Dogs and Cats

<i>Toxascaris leonina</i> is an ascaridoid nematode of dogs and cats; this parasite affects the health of these animals. This study estimated the global prevalence of <i>Ta. leonina</i> infection in dogs and cats using random effects meta-analysis as well as subgroup, meta-regression and heterogeneity analyses. The data were stratified according to geographical region, the type of dogs and cats and environmental variables. A quantitative analysis of 135 published studies, involving 119,317 dogs and 25,364 cats, estimated prevalence rates of <i>Ta. leonina</i> in dogs and cats at 2.9% and 3.4%, respectively. Prevalence was highest in the Eastern Mediterranean region (7.2% for dogs and 10.0% for cats) and was significantly higher in stray dogs (7.0% vs. 1.5%) and stray cats (7.5% vs. 1.8%) than in pets. The findings indicate that, worldwide, ~26 million dogs and ~23 million cats are infected with <i>Ta. leonina</i>; these animals would shed substantial numbers of <i>Ta. leonina</i> eggs into the environment each year and might represent reservoirs of infection to other accidental or paratenic hosts. It is important that populations of dogs and cats as well as other canids and felids be monitored and dewormed for <i>Ta. leonina</i> and (other) zoonotic helminths.