AUTHOR=Liu Xiaohua , Wu Mengqi , Liu Yuan , Li Jing , Yang Dongqian , Jiang Liping 

TITLE=Foodborne Parasites Dominate Current Parasitic Infections in Hunan Province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.774980

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.774980

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Great progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of human parasitic diseases in China over the past six decades, but parasitic diseases are still one of the most serious public health problems in the world. The specific prevalence of parasitic diseases varies in different provinces due to their geographical environment and people’s dietary habits. In this study, a total of 4428 patients suspected to have parasitic infection by clinicians or themselves from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020, were recommended to our laboratory for further testing. In total, 5246 samples including fecal, blood and other body fluids were detected by etiological and immunological methods. Approximately 15.20% (673/4428) of all suspected patients were infected by at least to one species of parasite, and the overall positive rate of suspected patients from Hunan Province was 15.10% (594/3933). A total of 18 species of parasites, including nematodes (4 species), trematodes (5 species), cestodes (4 species), protozoa (2 species) and medical arthropods (3 species), and three of them were imported parasites outside of Hunan Province. There are 9 species of food-borne parasites, accounting for 89.92% (464/516) of patients infected by one species of parasite. Common parasites in Hunan Province include plerocercoid, Paragonimus westermani, Clonorchis sinensis, cysticercus, Toxoplasma gondii and Schistosoma japonicum. In this study, we found that the incidence of soil-borne nematode infections has decreased significantly. However, food-borne parasites gradually become the main parasitic infections as well as multiple infections are becoming more common. Therefore, we should not only continue the prevention and control of soil-derived nematodes, but also focus on the prevention and control of food-borne parasites in future.