title: Distribution patterns of Opisthorchis viverrini within a human community.
abstract: This paper describes patterns of infection with Opisthorchis viverrini within a human community assessed by egg count, parasite-specific antibody levels and worm burden determined by expulsion chemotherapy. All three measurements increased significantly with age, reaching a plateau in young adults. There were no significant sex-associated differences in the prevalence or intensity of infection, antibody levels, or in the frequency of heavy worm burdens. A striking 81.5% of the total Opisthorchis population and 74% of the total egg output were expelled by the most heavily infected 10% of the humans sampled. This extreme over-dispersion, together with recent findings that hepatobiliary disease frequently accompanies heavy infections, argues that the priority for community-based parasite control programmes should be to maximize treatment and health promotion efforts toward heavily infected individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Haswell-Elkins
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Elkins
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sithithaworn
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Treesarawat
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaewkes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009889:Opisthorchiasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009891:Opisthorchis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G