Frequency of gastronintestinal parasite of dogs in public parks in two neighboring municipalities of state of Mexico

Soil contamination by gastrointestinal parasites represents a global problem and a health risk. Objective. Determine the presence of parasites in dog feces in public parks in the area. Materials and methods. Stool samples were collected in 27 public parks in Metepec and Toluca Estado de México, which were processed with 3 parasitological techniques; 81.4% of public parks were positive for gastrointestinal parasites, with an overall sample rate of 16.5%. The percentage of parasitosis with zoonotic potential was 81.3%; Toxocara spp, Ancylostoma spp and Giardia spp were the zoonotic species identified. Conclusions. The results indicate that parks in the conurbed area of Toluca represent a major public health problem as they are a source of zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites of dogs.