Toxocara (T.) canis, round worm of dogs and cats, is probably the most common gastrointestinal helminthes of domestic canid and is ascarid nematodes in the order Ascaridida, family Toxocaridae. The prevalence of patent toxocariasis is highest in the young dogs and much less common in adult dogs. There are few reports on the status of T. canis prevalence of dogs in Korea. Few cases of human visceral larva migrans also reported in Korea. However, as far as we know, there is no report on the canine toxocariasis case determined by pathological findings in Korea until now. In this research, we diagnosed canine toxocariasis by fecal egg test and pathologic findings in 2-month old two Pointer dogs. Typical T. canis eggs were detected in the fecal test. Numerous adult ascarids in the lumen of small intestine and stomach in one dog and multifocal white necrotic lesions in lung, liver, and kidney in another dog were observed grossly. Histologically, multifocal necrosis, eosinophilic inflammation and intralesional ascarid larva were prominent findings in the lung, liver and kidney.
Toxocariasis is an illness of humans caused by roundworm. Toxocara species are commonly found in dogs and cats. Humans are accidental hosts. There are two routes of infection. One route is the ingestion of infected eggs, and the other route is the ingestion of an infected paratenic host. Clinical manifestations vary from asymptomatic infection to severe organ failure. In most cases, the patients are asymptomatic and the disease is self-limited. Thus, patients with mild symptoms do not require treatment. However we report on cases of patients with asymptomatic hepatic nodules who were treated to exclude malig-nant disease.