Parasitic Worms Have Been Found In All 5 NYC Boroughs, Raising Concerns About Children Playing In Parks

AntonioLopez - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
AntonioLopez - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

New York City officials are warning parents to be on high alert after small, parasitic worms were discovered in NYC parks.

The worms, known as Toxocara, live in the muscles and digestive systems of animals. Now, though, these little critters have been found in all five boroughs.

It is not easy or common for humans to contract the worms. However, they can be spread to humans by dog or cat feces.

In turn, medical experts are worried that children playing in NYC parks might consume the worms if they eat grass or dirt.

Most human infections do not cause symptoms.

But, more serious cases may result in rashes, abdominal pain, fever, coughing, and fatigue.

And in rare severe cases, Toxocara can travel to the eyes– resulting in neurological damage and blindness.

According to the CDC, about fourteen percent of the United States population has already been infected with this parasite. Seventy people, primarily children, ended up blind.

So far, the Bronx is the borough with the highest prevalence of Toxocara parasites by far, coming in at sixty-seven percent.

AntonioLopez – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person

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Staten Island is second at thirty-nine percent. Meanwhile, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan all have Toxocara prevalence rates that range from thirty to thirty-three percent.

Thomas Nutman, chief of the parasitic diseases laboratory at Maryland’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described how there is still much to be learned about these worms.

“I think the finding of Toxocara is both important and unsurprising. It is really important for us to understand that these neglected tropical diseases, toxocariasis being one of them, are still a huge problem– the extent of which we do not know yet,” Nutman said.

And even as the summer winds down over the next two months, scientists are advising parents to remain vigilant.

These worms and their eggs can weather even the harshest winters by staying beneath the soil and still reemerge next springtime.

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Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing ... More about Katharina Buczek

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