title: Decrease of Metagonimus yokogawai endemicity along the Tamjin River basin.
abstract: The Tamjin River which flows from Jangheung-gun via Gangjin-gun to the South Sea was reported to be a highly endemic area of Metagonimus yokogawai infection in 1977 and 1985. However, there were no recent studies demonstrating how much change occurred in the endemicity, in terms of prevalence and worm burden, of metagonimiasis in this river basin. Thus, a small-scale epidemiological survey was carried out on some residents along the Tamjin River basin in order to determine the current status of M. yokogawai infection. A total of 48 fecal samples were collected and examined by the Kato-Katz thick smear and formalin-ether sedimentation techniques. The egg positive rate of all helminths was 50.0%, and that of M. yokogawai was 37.5%, followed by C. sinensis 22.9% and G. seoi 4.2%. To obtain the adult flukes of M. yokogawai, 6 egg positive cases were treated with praziquantel 10 mg/kg in a single dose and purged with magnesium sulfate. A total of 5,225 adult flukes (average 871 specimens per person) of M. yokogawai were collected from their diarrheic stools. Compared with the data reported in 1977 and 1985, the individual worm burdens appeared to have decreased remarkably, although the prevalence did not decrease at all. It is suggested that the endemicity of M. yokogawai infection along the Tamjin River has been reduced. To confirm this suggestion, the status of infection in snail and fish intermediate hosts should be investigated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Endemic Diseases, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul 110-799, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Ju
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyo-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Min-Jae
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jo Woon
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yi Lee
authors.forename: Bong-Kwang
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Ji-Youn
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun-Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jae-Lip
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong-Yil
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006578:Heterophyidae; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045483:Rivers; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*