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.
Highlights
Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (FZT) pose a risk to human food safety and health and may cause substantial economic losses in the aquaculture industry
These findings suggest that reservoir hosts other than humans play a major role in sustaining transmission of FZT in this community
An Province, northern Vietnam (Figure 1), in fish-farming households previously investigated for human and fish FZT infections [5,6]
Summary
Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (FZT) pose a risk to human food safety and health and may cause substantial economic losses in the aquaculture industry. We determined prevalence and species composition of FZT infections in dogs, cats, and pigs in the community and analyzed potential risk factors for the transmission of FZT to animals and animals’ role in sustaining FZT infections in cultured fish. Fecal samples were collected from every animal in the selected households: 80 dogs, 35 cats, and 114 pigs.
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