In an attempt to establish an ideal method for mass production of Calicophoron microbothrium metacercariae, a study was carried out to compare the shedding capacities of Bulinus tropicus naturally and experimentally infected with C. microbothrium. A total of 906 F1 B. tropicus between 4 and 5 weeks old were each experimentally infected with two C. microbothrium miracidia and monitored for 12 we...

BACKGROUND Clonorchis sinensis causes clonorchiasis, a potentially serious disease. Growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2) is a cytosolic protein conserved among animals and plays roles in cellular functions such as meiosis, organogenesis and energy metabolism. In the present study, we report first molecular characters of growth factor receptor bound-protein (CsGrb2) from C. sinensis as ...

Metacercariae of the trematode Curtuteria australis (Echinostomatidae) accumulate in the foot of the New Zealand cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi, severely impairing the cockle's ability to burrow under the sediments. This results in increased predation by birds on cockles, and thus enhanced transmission rates of the parasite to its bird definitive hosts. This host manipulation by the trematode i...

Saraburi Province, Central Thailand has been a paragonimiasis-endemic area since 1956. This study compared the prevalences of human paragonimiasis in two villages near Chet Khot Waterfall, Kaeng Khoi District, investigated in 1984-1985 and 2005. The results from the 1980s showed 6.3% and 1% of villagers were positive for Paragonimus eggs in sputum and stool, respectively. In 2005, Paragonimus e...

Metacercariae of the trematode Curtuteria australis (Echinostomatidae) accumulate in the foot of the New Zealand cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi, severely impairing the cockle’s ability to burrow under the sediments. This results in increased predation by birds on cockles, and thus enhanced transmission rates of the parasite to its bird definitive hosts. This host manipulation by the trematode i...

A total of 6 lung fluke species have been documented in Thailand, of which P. heterotremus is the most important, since it affects humans. Although P. westermani is found as metacercariae in the same crab species as P. heterotremus in Thailand, human infections with P. westermani have not been confirmed. To accurately discriminate between the individual metacercariae of these two species, we es...

The metacercariae of Artyfechinostomum malayanum (Leiper, 1911) Mendheim, 1943 were discovered in Pila sp. snails purchased from a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They were isolated from the snails using the artificial digestion technique and were orally fed to 2 hamsters, 1 rat, and 2 mice to obtain the adult flukes. The metacercariae were round, 145-165 μm in diameter, having a cyst wall of 6...

The echinostome metacercariae encysted in Cipangopaludina sp. snails that were purchased from a market in Vientiane Municipality, Lao PDR, were identified as Echinostoma macrorchis (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) through recovery of adult flukes after experimental infection to rats and a cat. The metacercariae were round, 113-128 (121)×113-125 (120) µm, having a thick cyst wall, a head collar armed...

To accurately discriminate between individual metacercariae of Paragonimus heterotremus and P. westermani occurring in Thailand, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular methods were established and subjected to an evaluation. We first amplified and sequenced the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA of the two species. Based on their nucleotide di...

The use of cysteine proteinases from Fasciola hepatica adult flukes for the serodiagnosis of caprine fasciolosis by means of an indirect ELISA test was studied. Two proteolytic fractions from adult fluke homogenates, with apparent molecular weights of 28 and 34 kDa (P28 and P34 respectively), were characterised as cysteine proteinases using azocasein assays and gelatin gel analysis. Both P28 an...