• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.703-710
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• 2013

To increase public health awareness for prevention of opisthorchiasis caused by eating raw freshwater fish, the distribution and abundance of Opisthorchis viverrini metacercariae (OV MC) was investigated in freshwater fish obtained from 20 provinces in northeastern Thailand between April 2011 and February 2012. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 12,890 fish consisting of 13 species randomly caught from 26 rivers, 10 dams, and 38 ponds/lakes. Fish, were collected in each of the rainy and winter seasons from each province. Fish were identified, counted, weighed, and digested using pepsin-HCl. Samples were examined for OV MC by a sedimentation method, and metacercariae were identified under a stereomicroscope. OV MC were found in 6 species of fish; i.e., Cyclocheilichthys armatus, Puntius orphoides, Hampala dispar, Henicorhynchus siamensis, Osteochilus hasselti, and Puntioplites proctozysron from localities in 13 provinces. Among the sites where OV MC-infected fish were found, 70.0% were dams, 23.7% were ponds/lakes, and 7.7% were rivers. The mean intensity of OV MC ranged from 0.01 to 6.5 cysts per fish (or 1.3-287.5 cysts per kg of fish). A high mean intensity of OV MC per fish (>3 cysts) was found in 5 provinces: Amnat Charoen (6.5 cysts), Nakhon Phanom (4.3), Mukdahan (4.1), Khon Kaen, (3.5) and Si Sa Ket (3.4). In conclusion, OV MC are prevalent in natural cyprinid fish, with the infection rate varying according to fish species and habitats.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.439-445
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• 2015

A survey of intestinal helminths was undertaken in riparian people in Xieng Khouang Province, Lao PDR. Fecal specimens were collected from 643 people (289 males and 354 females) residing in 4 districts (Nonghet, Kham, Phoukout, and Pek) and were examined by the Kato-Katz technique. The overall helminth egg positive rate was 41.2%, and hookworms revealed the highest prevalence (32.7%) followed by Trichuris trichiura (7.3%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (5.6%). The positive rate for small trematode eggs (STE), which may include Opisthorchis viverrini, heterophyids, and lecithodendriids, was 4.4%. For recovery of adult helminths, 12 STE or nematode/cestode egg-positive people were treated with 40 mg/kg praziquantel and 15 mg/kg pyrantel pamoate, and then purged. Mixed infections with 2 Haplorchis species (H. pumilio and H. taichui), Centrocestus formosanus, Opisthorchis viverrini, a species of cestode (Taenia saginata), and several species of nematodes including hookworms and Enterobius vermicularis were detected. The worm load for trematodes was the highest for H. pumilio with an average of 283.5 specimens per infected person followed by C. formosanus, H. taichui, and O. viverrini. The worm load for nematodes was the highest for hookworms (21.5/infected case) followed by E. vermicularis (3.2/infected case). The results revealed that the surveyed areas of Xieng Khouang Province, Lao PDR are endemic areas of various species of intestinal helminths. The STE found in the surveyed population were verified to be those of heterophyids, particularly H. pumilio.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1996

Mccroorchis spinuLosw Ando, 1918 (Digenea: Nanophyetidael is redescribed based on adult flukes recovered from experimental mice, rats and cats which were fed with metacercariae encysted in the muscle of the crayfish, Cambnroines similis. A total of 117 adult flukes were harvested from the small intestine of the experimental animals at S-21 days post-infection. The worm recovery rate was 31-37%, not significantly different among the three kinds of animals. The metacercariae were round, 0.18 mm in average diameter, encysted with two layers of thick walls, and possessing a stylets on the oral sucker and Y- shaped exc retory bladder. The adult flukes were oval, 0.66-0.71 mm long and 0.36-0.41 mm wide, and characterized by the presence of a stylet on the oral sucker, variable location of the ovary near the mid-portion of the body, bilobed seminal vesicle, and anterolateral location of two testes. These morphological features were a little different from the original description, hence, an emended version of M. spinulosw was given. M. spinuLosw is a new intestinal trematode of animals and possibly man in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2012

To determine the status of Korean molluscs infection and relation with climate change of Korean peninsula, references were reviewed. Wild animals serve as intermediate, reservoirs and paratenic hosts to zoonotic parasites of human beings. Trematode are common parasites of molluscs and almost all trematodes infect mollusks as the first host in the life cycle, and most have a complex life cycle involving other hosts. The significance of auxiliary hosts to the ecology of the parasite has not been proper discussion. There is increasing concern as to the impact of climate change on the epidermiology of many parasitic diseases. A total of 21 species for snail transmitted parasites from Korean molluscs has been reviewed. Among them, 15 species was aquatic mollusks and 6 species for marine mollusks. Maximum infections belonged to Semisulcospira livertina had 11 kind of parasite pathogenic organisms, including Paragonimus westermani, Metagonimus yokogawai, Centrocestus armatus, Notocotylus magniovatus, Centrocestus formosanus, incerte cercaria, nipponensis cercaria, Yoshidae cercaria, cristata cercaria, innominatum cercaria and Metagonimus sp. And 11 in Parafossarulus manchouricus including Clonorchis sinensis, Asymphylodora japonica, Cyathocotyle orientalis, Exorchis oviformis, Notocotylus attenuatus, Echinochasmus japonicus, Loxogenes liberum, Cercariae of Loxogenes liberum Type I, Cercariae of Loxogenes liberum Type II, Furcocercus cercariae (Family Sanguincolidae) and Cercaria of Mucobucaris, 10 in Semisulcospira sp. including Paragonimus westermani, Metagonimus yokogawai, Centrocestus armatus, Echinochasmus redioduplicatus, Notocotylus magniovatus, Cercaria incerte, Cercaria nipponensis, Cercaria yoshidae, paludinarum cercaria and Metagonimus sp., 7 in Koreanomelania globus including Pseudexorchis major, Cercaria of parapleurolophocercous type, Metagonimus sp. (A & B), Cercaria nipponensis, Cercaria inserta and Cercaria yoshidae. Also, Tapes philippinarum have 3 pathogenic organisms including Cercariae tapidis, Cercariae furcocercus and Parvatrema sp. In particular, under climatic extremes such as floods and drought, aquatic molluscs may play a more prominent role in parasite transmission in the future.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.325-338
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• 1991

The present study was undertaken to determine the endemicity of trematode infections in Yongyang County, Kyungpook Province, Korea. One hundred and seventy-seven out of 955 residents examined were found to be infected with one or more kinds of helminthes. The prevalence rate was 18.5%. Among them, 70 were found to be infected with Clenorchis sinensis, 74 with Meta-gonimus sp. and 2:l with both flukes. The eggs of Fasciolidae were demonstrated from two specimens. The prevalence rate of clonorchiasis in males was 12.6%, while that in females was 3.6% (p<0.05). The prevalence of metagonimiasis in males was 12.0% and was also significantly higher than 6.1% in females (p<0.05). The intensity of both infections was significantly heavier in males than in females. The prevalence of both nukes was higher in residents of oyer 30 years of age than in those below that age. No correlation was found between the intensity and the age group. Among eight species of the fresh-water fish collected at the Panbyon River, Zacco temmincki was found to be the most frequently and heavily infested with metacercariae of Metagonimus sp., and Gnathopogon asromaculatus alone was found to be infested with metacercariae of Clonorchis sinensis. The present results suggest that Yongyang area still remains endemic with Clonorchis sinensis and Metagonimus sp. infection.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 1984

The life history of a trematod fluck, Himasthla kusasigi was studied on the morphological characters of metacercariae, its infection rate in the clam and the contamination experiment to the herring gull, Larus crassiostris. The size of the metacercariae was $210{\sim}230{\times}220{\mu}m$, excysted metacercariae was $420{\times}160{\mu}m$ and it had 31 collar spines. The ventral sucker($112{\times}100{\mu}m$) was located just below the central part of the body. Esophagus was narrow and long, the intestine was branched in the upper part of the ventral sucker and extended to the hind part of the body. Excretory bladder without the infected part was located in the hind part of the body. The branched excretory tube was filled with the small granules and extended to the pharynx area. The infection rate of the metacercariae varied from place to place. In Naecho do and Puan the rates were $98.4\%$ and $95.9\%$ respectively. The infected number of Himasthla kusasigi per clam was positively proportional to the size of the clam. The adult fluckes developed from the metacercariae were obtained from the experimented herring gull. The metacercariae emerge from their cysts in the stomach of the herring gull, then they migrate it the intestine and 25 days after, most of them were found in the intestine. The size of the adult was $4.8{\sim}7.5{\times}0.22{\sim}0.24mm$, oral sucker; $68{\sim}120{\times}70{\sim}120{\mu}m$, pharynx: $80{\times}50{\mu}m$, ventral sucker: $630{\sim}680{\times}610{\sim}680{\mu}m$. The head collar $48{\sim}75{\times}10{\mu}m$ had 31 collar spines. The isolated trematod fluck from the samples was classified as a Himasthla kusasigi by the morphological characteristics of the adult flock and its metacercariae. We oberved that the second intermediate host of Himasthla kusasigi was hard clam, Meretrix lusoria, while its final host was herring gull, Larus crassiostris and Tringa ochropus.