Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
Published on: August 22, 2012
Parasite contamination of sand and soil from daycare sandboxes and play areas
T W Gyorkos1, E Kokoskin-Nelson, J D Maclean
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University; Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Montreal General Hospital; McGill University Centre for Tropical Diseases, Montreal General Hospital; and Département de Médecine préventive, Hôpital Saint-Luc, Montréal, Quebec.
Objectives:
To determine if there was parasite contamination in the sand and soil in daycare sandboxes and play areas, with the goal of developing practice guidelines for their management.
Methods:
One hundred samples of sand and soil from 10 daycare centres in different regions of the province of Quebec, collected between April 22 and May 6, 1991, were examined.
Results:
Toxocara eggs were found in both surface and subsurface sand from two Montreal centres and co-occurred with Ascaris species (surface sand) in one centre and with hookworm (surface soil) in the second. Hookworm eggs were also recovered from one centre in the Quebec City region.
Conclusions:
These results document the presence of potentially pathogenic helminth parasites in the daycare environment. Evidence from the literature regarding the health risk to children is insufficient and highlights the need for further research into the assessment of the risk of human infection and morbidity, the viability of these parasites under different environmental conditions and practical issues related to the management of sand and soil.
More Related Videos
03:46A Simple Fecal Flotation Method for Diagnosing Zoonotic Nematodes Under Field and Laboratory Conditions
Published on: December 15, 2023
04:57Comparative Analysis of Automatic Fecal Analyzer versus Direct Wet Smear Microscopy for Detecting Parasitic Infections in Stool Samples
Published on: April 25, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Reservoir of Infection
Deleterious Substances in Aggregate
Another type of impurity is clay and fine material that...
Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Diversity of Protists II
Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...