Prevalence, intensity and risk factors for clonorchiasis and possible use of questionnaires to detect individuals at risk in northern Vietnam

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 102; no. 12; pp. 1263 - 1268
• Main Authors: Thi Cam, Thach Dang, Yajima, Aya, Viet, Khong Nguyen, Montresor, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2008; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Clonorchiasis; Clonorchiasis - epidemiology; Clonorchis sinensis; Clonorchis sinensis - genetics; Clonorchis sinensis - isolation & purification; Diseases caused by trematodes; Distomatoses; Feces - parasitology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Fishes; General aspects; Helminthic diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Liver flukes; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Opisthorchiasis - epidemiology; Parasitic diseases; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; Questionnaires; Risk Factors; Sex Distribution; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vietnam; Vietnam - epidemiology; Young Adult; Asia; Vietnam; Clonorchiasis; Clonorchis sinensis; Vietnam; Liver flukes; Risk factors; Questionnaires; Human; Prevalence; Questionnaire; Distomatosis; Liver; Trematode disease; Plathelmintha; Parasitosis; Epidemiology; Helminthiasis; Trematoda; Infection; Risk factor; Helmintha; Opistorchiasis; Tropical medicine; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.06.002

A high prevalence of the liver flukes
Clonorchis sinensis and
Opisthorchis viverrini has been reported in a number of provinces in Vietnam. Knowledge about
C. sinensis infection gained from Thailand over the past decade suggests that the habit of eating raw freshwater fish is a major risk factor for infection. However, further information to confirm this is needed. In the present study 1155 villagers in two communes in northern Vietnam were interviewed and their stools were examined for the presence of liver flukes. The prevalence of infection was 26% and was 3.6 times higher in males than in females. The habit of eating raw fish increased the risk of
C. sinensis infection 53-fold. These results provide evidence of a strong correlation between the intensity of
C. sinensis infection and the cumulative quantity of freshwater fish consumed in a lifetime and suggest that simple questionnaires could be used in endemic areas to quickly identify populations at risk and enable targeted treatment.