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Opisthorchis viverrini infection is an endemic disease that causes a serious public health problem in southeast Asia, especially in northeast Thailand. We have developed a PCR method using a pair of primers named OV-6F/OV-6R for detecting O. viverrini eggs in stool samples and compared it with Stoll's egg-count method. The primers were designed based on the pOV-A6 specific DNA probe sequence which gave a 330 base pair product. The PCR method can detect a single egg in artificially inoculated faeces or as little as 2 x 10(-17) ng of O. viverrini genomic DNA. The method gave 100% sensitivity in all hamster groups except in animals exposed to the lowest intensity of infection (1 metacercaria/hamster). In the first month of infection, the PCR method was more sensitive than using the egg-count method in all infected groups especially in the light infections. The PCR method was also successfully used in monitoring a therapeutic study. Since the PCR method showed no cross-reaction with Heterophyid flukes, it can be useful for specific identification of O. viverrini eggs in stool samples without the risk of false positives. It also has great potential for application in clinical epidemiological studies.

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Gastrointestinal zoonotic helminths of dogs and cats have a public health concern worldwide. We investigated the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of zoonotic significance in dogs and cats in lower Northern Thailand and utilized molecular tools for species identification of hookworms and Opisthorchis viverrini. Fecal samples of 197 dogs and 180 cats were collected. Overall prevalence of infection using microscopy was 40.1% in dogs and 33.9% in cats. Helminth infection found in both dogs and cats included hookworms, Spirometra spp., Taenia spp., Toxocara spp., O. viverrini, Strongyloides spp. and Trichuris spp. Hookworms were the most common helminth in dogs, while Spirometra spp. were the most prevalent in cats. Among hookworm infection in dogs and cats, Ancylostoma ceylanicum was the most prevalent hookworm, being 82.1% in hookworm infected dogs and 95.8% in hookworm infected cats. Mixed-infection due to hookworms and Spirometra spp. was the most dominant in both dogs and cats. Our finding showed that zoonotic helminth infection is highly prevalent in dogs and cats in the lower Northern area of Thailand.