What causes Toxocariasis?
Toxocariasis is a usually mild zoonotic (animal related) disease caused by the parasitic worm Toxocara canis, or Toxocara cati (rarer cause). Infection is most common in children, and sickness is from larvae (immature worms) spreading into organs and tissues, or the eyes. Human infection with this parasite was first observed in 1950. Toxocariasis is not a Nationally Notifiable Disease. Toxocara canis occurs in dogs and Toxocara cati in cats. It cannot reproduce in humans or other end-stage hosts like cattle and sheep. However, it can live in their tissues for many years.
