Environmental influence on abundance and infection patterns of snail intermediate hosts of liver and intestinal flukes in North and Central Vietnam

PTX Nguyen, P Dorny, H Van Hoang, B Losson, B Mignon, DT Bui

Research output: Contribution to journalA1: Web of Science-articlepeer-review

Abstract

Liver and intestinal flukes (LIF) are important groups of foodborne zoonotic trematodes (FZTs) in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Their complex life cycles require specific freshwater snail species as the obligatory first intermediate hosts. In 2019, we conducted a longitudinal study in Yen Bai and Thanh Hoa provinces in North and Central Vietnam, respectively, to investigate the diversity of LIF and their infection prevalence in relation to snail host abundance and environmental factors. Using a combination of morphological and molecular identification techniques, we identified 10 LIF species infecting 11 snail host species. We observed significant seasonal variation in the mean abundance of several snail host species, with the majority of snails collected during the spring. We also detected seasonal changes in LIF species composition, with the highest species richness reported in the spring. Clonorchis sinensis and Fasciola gigantica, two medically important human liver flukes in Asia, were found only in the spring in Yen Bai. Our study revealed that not all snail host species have the same probability of becoming infected, and we recorded seasonal variations in the prevalence of LIF infection in different snail species in relation to water parameters.
Original languageEnglish
Article number134
JournalParasitology Research
Volume123
Issue number2
Number of pages19
ISSN0932-0113
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Freshwater snail
  • Intestinal fluke
  • Liver fluke
  • Seasonal variation
  • Vietnam

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