title: Animal reservoir hosts and fish-borne zoonotic trematode infections on fish farms, Vietnam.
abstract: Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (FZT) pose a risk to human food safety and health and may cause substantial economic losses in the aquaculture industry. In Nghe An Province, Vietnam, low prevalence of FZT for fish farmers but high prevalence for fish indicate that reservoir hosts other than humans may play a role in sustaining transmission. To determine whether domestic animals may be reservoir hosts, we assessed prevalence and species composition of FZT infections in dogs, cats, and pigs in a fish-farming community in Vietnam. Feces from 35 cats, 80 dogs, and 114 pigs contained small trematode eggs at 48.6%, 35.0%, and 14.4%, respectively; 7 species of adult FZT were recovered from these hosts. These results, combined with data from previous investigations in this community, imply that domestic animals serve as reservoir hosts for FZT and therefore must be included in any control programs to prevent FZT infection in humans.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Veterinary Research, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nguyen Thi
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Lan-Anh
authors.forename: Nguyen Thi
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Phuong
authors.forename: K Darwin
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Murrell
authors.forename: Maria Vang
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalsgaard
authors.forename: Luong To
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Thu
authors.forename: Tran Thi
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Kim-Chi
authors.forename: Stig Milan
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thamsborg