Abstract
The study aimed to estimate the role of small rodents in the circulation of larval toxocarosis in light of their different habitats. From 2005 to 2008, a total of 1523 small rodents, belonging to 11 species, were captured in 5 different habitats of Slovakia. Anti-Toxocara antibodies were detected in 6.6 % animals. The dominant reservoirs of toxocarosis were striped-field mouse Apodemus agrarius (11.7 %) and mound-building mouse Mus spicilegus (10.7 %), while the seropositivity of voles was low. Sexually active adults were infected more frequently (10.8%) in comparison with inactive ones (5.2 %). According to habitats, seroprevalence of toxocarosis in windbreaks (2.4 %) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than in agrocoenoses (6.7 %), alluvia (8.5 %) and ecotones (7.5 %). Log-linear analysis performed in A. agrarius indicates that type of habitat and sexual activity affect the seropositivity to Toxocara infection. The highest seroprevalence was observed in alluvium (21.2 %) while the lowest in windbreak (1.8 %) (χ2 = 17.232, p < 0.001) and sexually active mice were characterised by 22.5 % and sexually inactive by 6.4 % seroprevalence (χ2 = 30.634, p < 0.001). The occurrence pattern of toxocarosis in small rodents suggests that they are permanent reservoirs for Toxocara spp. in nature and significant indicators of Toxocara egg contamination in environs.