Studies of ocular toxocariasis in rats infected with irradiated TOXOCARA canis eggs

Toxocariasis is a disease caused by a worm called Toxocara canis. Ocular toxocariasis occurs when larvae of T.canis enter the eyes of animals via the blood stream. Once the eye is invaded, characteristic changes are produced with comparative sparing of the anterior segment. In the present study, thirty rats were divided into three groups, the first and the second groups were infected with the infective stage of T.canis irradiated at 40 and 80 Gy, respectively, then infected with non-irradiated eggs after 6 weeks. The third group was infected with non-irradiated eggs representing the control group. The signs of ocular toxocariasis were noticed from the day of infection till 9 weeks being more obvious in the first than in the second group and were increased by the time. The histopathological changes in the tissues of the infected eyes were examined. The damage caused by infection with T.canis decreased by increasing the dose of irradiation of the infected stage. Radiation exposure attenuated the larval migration from the gastrointestinal tract to liver and from liver to other organs like eyes