Opisthorchiasis and Hypophyseal Thyroid System Abnormality: Actual Problem or Coincidence

Dear Editor, the liver fluke infestation caused by Opisthorchis viverrini, infection is very common in tropical Southeast Asia. This infection can cause chronic liver problem and can induced the carcinogenesis at hepatobiliary system. The long term chronic opisthorchiasis is proved as an important cause of the hepatobiliary cancer namely cholangiocacinoma. The patient with cholangiocarcinoma usually has extremely severe disease and end up with death [1]. The high incidence of cholangiorcarcinoma in Indochina is believed to due to high incidence of opisthorchiasis. The infection is related to consumption of raw fish, which is the common eating behavior of local people in Indochina. The contamination of the infective metacercariae in fresh water fish is common in Indochina and if there is no good cooking before ingestion, the parasite will still exist and can cause infection to anyone who ingests it. At present, the attempt to control the opisthorchiasis becomes the important local public health policies. Nevertheless, the continuous attempt is still necessary since there is still no favorable outcome of control campaign. Sripa and Echaubard noted that “despite extensive public health prevention campaigns led by the government, the prevalence of Ov infection is still high. High infection rates result from cultural and ecological complexities where wet-rice agrarian habitats, centuries-old raw-food culture, and the parasite's complex biology combine to create an ideal transmission arena [2].”