Liver Fluke and Minute Intestinal Fluke Infection in Sa Kaeo and Nan Provinces, Thailand

Abstract

Abstract

Stools were examined for the prevalence of liver fl uke infection (Opisthorchis viverrini) by Katz’s modifi ed thick smear technique in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province, eastern Thailand, in January 2004. Of the 545 stool samples collected, 261 (47.9%) contained small-sized eggs resembling O. viverrini eggs. The detected prevalence rate was higher than the prevalence in the same region reported by the Ministry of Public health, at 5.3%. Fifty-nine infected cases were dewormed. After administration of praziquantel followed by laxative, whole-day stool samples were collected and washed by sedimentation method. Worms were collected under a stereomicroscope. O. viverrini adult worms were recovered in all 59 cases, and only 4 had mixed infections with minute intestinal fl ukes (Haplochis taichui). The same study was performed in Chaloem Phra Kiat and Ban Lung Districts, Nan Province, in northern Thailand, where the prevalence rate reported by the Ministry of Public Health was 20.6%. The result showed that the prevalences of O. viverrini/H. taichui in the two areas were 27.6% and 47.1%, respectively. All 88 cases with small-sized eggs in Chaloem Phra Kiat District harbored H. taichui, while 16/84 cases in Ban Luang were mixed infections of O. viverrini and Haplochis sp.

Keywords: liver fluke; minute intestinal fluke; prevalence rate