ABSTRACT

Toxocariasis is a helminthic zoonosis caused by larval stages of Toxocara canis (T. canis), the roundworms of dogs. The prevalence of fibromyalgia (FM) is found higher in patients with Lyme disease, HIV, hepatitis B (HBV) and C viruses (HCV) infections. However, a possible relationship between T. canis infection and FM has not been reported previously in the literature. We carried out a study in order to evaluate the T. canis seropositivity in FM patients.

91 patients with FM were recruited from the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine outpatient clinic. Blood samples were obtained to determine eosinophil and total IgE levels with the ELISA method using the Toxocara-IgG ELISA kit to detect antibodies against the excretory/secretory antigen of the T. canis larvae.

11 of the FM patients out of 91 (12,08%) had positive test results for T. canis seropositivity. We have found negative correlation between seropositivity and education level, daily hand washing habit. Having a dog as a pet and the duration of owning also increased prevalence. Our findings may be a sign of a possible role of toxocariasis in the etiology of FM, but needs to be investigated by case-control studies with larger populations.

Keywords: Fibromyalgia, Toxocara canis, toxocariasis, seropositivity