Survey of the Fluke Infection Rate in Ban Khok Yai Village, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Abstract

Abstract

The prevalence of fluke infection was studied in Ban Khok Yai Village, Khon Kaen Province, northeastern Thailand. A total of 395 stool specimens was obtained from the villagers. Formalin-ether centrifugation technique was applied to the fecal specimens after collection. Of 395 subjects, 113 (28.6%) were positive for parasites by stool examination. The fluke infections were Opisthorchis viverrini (11.1%), Echinostoma spp (2.3%), minute intestinal flukes (1.8%) and Fasciola spp (0.2%). Other intestinal parasites were Strongyloides stercoralis (2.0%), hookworms (1.8%), Sarcosystis spp (5.3%), Entamoeba coli (2.0%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.2%), Taenia spp (0.2%), Giardia lamblia (1.0%), E. histolytica (0.2%) and Endolimax nana (0.2%). Fluke infection, particularly O. viverrini infection, was the most common in the old age group (51 years and up). The percentage of raw freshwater fish consumption (koi pla, pla som and pla ra) among the villagers was found to be 92.6%, while defecation on the ground during the villagers’working hours in the rice fields was 75.9%.

Keywords : fluke infection, prevalence