Detection of parasite DNA in soil samples from rural Yucatán, México

The soil is the primary environmental reservoir for many parasites transmitted to humans through the fecal-oral route, causing disease. Our environmental study used a high-throughput multi-parallel real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to detect parasites’ DNA in soil collected from the outdoor built environments of 34 houses. The total parasite prevalence was Acanthamoeba spp . (53%), Blastocystis spp. (12%), Ascaris lumbricoides (12%), Toxocara canis (9%), Ancylostoma spp. (3%), Trichuris trichiura (3%), Entamoeba histolytica (3%) and Giardia intestinalis (3%). No DNA from Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis, Toxocara catis , and Cryptosporidium spp was detected. A total of 65% of houses were positive for at least one parasite, 15% had poly-parasites, and up to six different parasites were detected in a single sample. This is the first report of parasites-DNA detected in soil samples from a rural community in Yucatán and suggests higher rates of transmission of parasites with both a zoonotic and medical importance. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This work was supported by the Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape (MIEHR) Center of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research, NIMHD grant #P50 MD015496. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors