Animal reservoir hosts and fish-borne zoonotic trematode infections on fish farms, Vietnam.
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.
Lan-Anh
Nguyen Thi
NT
National Institute of Veterinary Research, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Phuong
Nguyen Thi
NT
Murrell
K Darwin
KD
Johansen
Maria Vang
MV
Dalsgaard
Anders
A
Thu
Luong To
LT
Kim-Chi
Tran Thi
TT
Thamsborg
Stig Milan
SM