High prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis infection in Guangxi, Southern China

Abstract

Background Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), such as hookworm, roundworm and whipworm, and food-borne trematodiases, including Clonorchis sinensis, remain a public health problem worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. Objective We aimed to determine the current prevalence of these parasites in Guangxi, China, which is located in a subtropical region. Methods A cross-sectional study and a 4-year longitudinal surveillance study were carried out. Stool samples were collected and examined microscopically for parasite eggs using the modified Kato-Katz thick smear method. Results The study subjects selected using stratified random cluster sampling for the cross-sectional study and longitudinal surveillance study numbered 15,683 and 24,429, respectively. In the cross-sectional study, hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, pinworm, C. sinensis, and tapeworm were found. The total prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) was 6.4% (95% CI, 6.0-6.8). The prevalences of C. sinensis, hookworm, roundworm, whipworm, and pinworm were 10.6%, 4.2%, 0.3%, 0.3%, and 1.8%, respectively. The prevalence of C. sinensis in males (14.0%, 95% CI, 13.3-14.8) was significantly higher than in females (7.2%, 95% CI, 6.7-7.8) (P = 0.0001). The prevalence also was significantly higher in the medical worker group (20.8%, 95% CI, 12.9-28.7) than in all other occupational groups (10.5%, 95% CI, 10.0-11.0) (P = 0.0001). The prevalence of hookworm in females (5.3%, 95% CI, 4.8-5.8) was significantly higher than in males (3.0%, 95% CI, 2.6-3.3) (P = 0.0001). In the longitudinal surveillance study, the prevalence of C. sinensis and STHs in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 were 12.0%, 6.0%, 11.0%, and 10.0% and 2.6%, 2.8%, 1.5%, and 1.5%, respectively. Conclusions Adult male and occupation of and medical workers are risk factors for infection with C. sinensis and hookworm. The prevalence rate of C. sinensis remains high while those of the other STHs are decreasing, suggesting that enhanced health education should be focused on C. sinensis in Guangxi.

Clonorchis sinensis infection amplifies hepatocellular carcinoma stemness, predicting unfavorable prognosis

“…However, this correlation does not translate to a strong causation in the absence of experimental validation. Therefore, further experimental validation is necessary to clarify the impact of C. sinensis infection on HCC carcinogenesis [34][35][36]. Our data also indicated a higher prevalence of males in the C. sinensis (+) HCC group than in the C. sinensis (-) HCC group.…”

“…Therefore, further experimental validation is necessary to clarify the impact of C . sinensis infection on HCC carcinogenesis [ 34 – 36 ]. Our data also indicated a higher prevalence of males in the C .…”

Fish and Food-Fatale: Food-borne Trematode Opisthorchis viverrini and Cholangiocarcinoma

“…O. viverrini is mainly restricted to Southeast Asia, O. felineus is indigenous to North Asia and Eastern Europe, and C. sinensis is prevalent in Korea, sections of Russia, China, and Vietnam ( Sripa et al ., 2021 ; Pakharukova et al ., 2023 ). According to China’s national parasite inquiry, the prevalence of Clonorchiasis has increased by about 0.37 percent since the initial examination in 1988, and a recent study found that the prevalence of C. sinensis infection is 29.3 percent ( Gao et al ., 2020 ; Jiang et al ., 2021 ). While nearly 1.2 million people reside with O. felineus in Western Siberia and other regions of the Russian Federation ( Ovchinnikov et al ., 2017 ).…”

Clonorchis sinensis on the prognosis of patients with spontaneous rupture of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis

“…It is estimated that around 35 million individuals are infected with this disease, with approximately 15 million of these cases being reported in China alone [ 8 – 10 ]. The region most severely impacted by this affliction are Guangdong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China [ 11 – 13 ]. C .…”