Zoonotic Trematode metacercariae in fish from Phnom Penh and Pursat, Cambodia

Abstract

A survey was performed to investigate the infection status of freshwater fish with zoonotic trematode metacer-cariae in Phnom Penh and Pursat Province, Cambodia. All collected fish with ice were transferred to our laboratory and examined using the artificial digestion method. In fish from Phnom Penh, 2 kinds of metacercariae (Opisthorchis viverrini and Haplorchis yokogawai) were detected. O. viverrini metacercariae were positive in 37 (50.0%) of 74 fish in 11 species (average no. metacercariae/fish, 18.6). H. yokogawai metacercariae were detected in 23 (57.5%) of 40 fish in 5 species (average no. metacercariae/fish, 21.0). In fish from Pursat Province, 5 kinds of metacercariae (O. viverrini, H. yokogawai, Haplorchis pumilio, Centrocestus formosanus, and Procerovum sp.) were detected; O. viverrini metacercariae (n = 3) in 2 fish species (Henicorhynchus lineatus and Puntioplites falcifer), H. yokogawai metacercariae (n = 51) in 1 species (P. falci-fer), H. pumilio metacercariae (n= 476) in 2 species (H. lineatus and Pristolepis fasciata), C. formosanus metacercariae (n = 1) in 1 species (H. lineatus), and Procerovum sp. metacercariae (n = 63) in 1 species (Anabas testudineus). From the above results, it has been confirmed that various freshwater fish play the role of a second intermediate host for zoonotic trema-todes (O. viverrini, H. yokogawai, H. pumilio, C. formosanus, and Procerovum sp.) in Cambodia. © 2014, Korean Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine.