Taeniasis, cysticercosis and echinococcosis in Thailand.
Taeniasis is one of the major food-borne parasitic zoonoses in Thailand. During the years 1957-1997, the prevalence was low in most parts of the country. Recent (2000-2005) country prevalence was lower than 1%. A high prevalence (5.9%) was found among 1450 villagers from 30 villages in the North, and among 1233 stool samples from 19 provinces in the Northeast (2.8%). Taenia saginata was the dominant species. Cysticercosis in Thailand is somewhat under-reported/recorded. During the period 1965-2005, diagnosis was based on techniques other than serodiagnosis, giving a total of cysticercosis cases of less than 500. However, an immunoblot technique using delipidized cyst antigen showed 314 positive cases out of 754 samples tested in 2000-2005. Reports of neurocysticercosis appeared more often than cutaneous cysticercosis. A total of 24 cases of echinococcosis, mostly hydatid cysts (only 2 cases of alveolar cysts), were recorded during 1936-2005. These records included 3 cases of foreigners seeking surgery in hospitals in Bangkok. Most Thai patients were migrant workers from the Middle East, and only a few cases were indigenous. The prevalence of cysticercosis and echinococcosis is increasing resulting from sensitive modern diagnostic tests. Taeniasis will persist in Thailand as the consumption of raw/half-cooked meat dishes is still a normal practice for Thai people.
Waikagul
Jitra
J
Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. tmjwk@mahidol.ac.th
Dekumyoy
Paron
P
Anantaphruti
Malinee T
MT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013621:Taenia / Q000145:classification; D013622:Taeniasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology