Infection with Toxocara has been shown to stimulate atopic disease, specifically asthma.Holland, Celia, and H. V. Smith. Toxocara: The Enigmatic Parasite. Wallingford, UK: CABI Pub., 2006. Print. Infection with this parasite causes asthma-like symptoms such as accumulation of eosinophils, an inflammatory response, and production of IgE, the immunoglobulins associated with allergic responses.Pinelli, E., J. Dormans, and I. Van Die. "Toxocara and Asthma." Toxocara: The Enigmatic Parasite (n.d.): 42-57. Web. People with asthma are shown to have a higher prevalence of Toxocara seropositivity.Cobzaru, RG, C. Rîpă, MM Leon, MC Luca, A. Ivan, and M. Luca. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2012. Web. 02 Oct. 2016. Research suggests that the IgE production stimulated by infection with Toxocara may contribute to the onsets of allergic asthma in children. The effects of how parasite load, frequency of exposure, and influence of genetics affect this relationship between Toxocara infection and allergic asthma are still unknown, yet important in understanding how to prevent asthma and other atopic diseases around the globe.
