Health behavior associated with Opisthorchis viverrini infection in Khukan District, Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand

Abstract

Food-borne trematode infections, such as opisthorchiasis, are major causes of morbidity in Asia. This present study was performed to determine the prevalence of infection with Opisthorchis viverrini and other intestinal parasites in five areas of Khukan District, Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand. Data regarding socioeconomic characteristics and the health behavior of the population were thought to be useful in the development of a strategy to control and eradicate parasitic infections in a cost-effective manner. Stool samples were collected from 774 subjects, including all age-groups, from below 10 years of age to more than 60 years. The prevalence of infection varied in the 5 investigated areas and ranged from 7 to 13.6%. The majority of detected parasites (61 cases, 7.9%) were Opisthorchis viverrini. Males were significantly more often infected than females (p=0.03), and the prevalence of infection significantly increased with age (p=0.003) and lower educational level (p=0.03). Hand cleaning behavior was not significantly associated with the prevalence of infection (p=0.44). Subjects who claimed to wash their hands always tended to be even more often infected than subjects who only washed their hands sometimes (10.1 and 7.7%, respectively). These results indicate that opisthorchiasis is still a public health problem in Khukan District is more restricted to populations of lower education. However, hand cleaning behavior and personal hygiene do not seem to play as crucial a role in the transmission of the disease as previously thought. Further studies on social habits are required and might offer the possibility of targeted treatment and education of predisposed groups or communities.