Prevalence of opisthorchiasis in the Pavlodar region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The territory of the Pavlodar region is a natural focus with a high intensity of the spread of opisthorchiasis invasion among people. One of the important preventive measures in the foci of opisthorchiasis is the elimination of helminths in the body of the main owners, which leads not only to the rupture of the biological chains of helminth development, but also to the protection of the environment from invasive pollution. Opisthorchiasis is widespread in the Pavlodar region, the extensiveness of invasion among carnivores is 5.7%. Cases of the incidence of cats were detected in five out of 10 districts (Aksu, Aktogay, Pavlodar, Shcherbaktinsky, Maysky), dogs -in two districts (Terenkol, Irtysh). Opisthorchiasis was not revealed in the study of the pig population. Cats and dogs, especially in coastal rural settlements of the region, support the existence of opisthorchiasis foci and contribute to their stabilization. The main source of the release of opisthorchis eggs into the external environment are cats, their infection rate is 2 times higher than that of dogs. In the Pavlodar region, opisthorchiasis of animals is caused by the O. felineus pathogen or cat fluke.

Epizootiology of Opisthorchiasis in Carnivores, Fish and Mollusks in the West Kazakhstan Region

“…Previous studies show that the main role in infecting humans, dogs, and cats belongs to such types of fish as ide, dace, bream, bleak, roach, Tench, crucian carp, rudd, and silver bream. The maximum extensiveness of invasion was noted in ide (up to 100%), dace (70-80%), and Tench and bream (40-50%) (Simakova et al, 2019;Proskurina et al, 2020;Aubakirov et al, 2022). The same priorities are preserved at present, which is confirmed by the results of our research.…”

“…According to many authors, cyprinid fish species from local water bodies are a source of infection for humans, dogs, and cats with Opisthorchis metacercariae. Eating contaminated raw or undercooked carp fish is common among people and domestic animals and contributes to the widespread of opisthorchiasis in settlements coastal to water bodies (Simakova et al, 2019;Proskurina et al, 2020;Aubakirov et al, 2022).…”

“…Foci of opisthorchiasis is most common among the population and carnivorous animals in river basins where there are favorable conditions for mollusks and cyprinids (Proskurina et al, 2020). Humans and carnivorous animals infested with opisthorchiasis pollute freshwater reservoirs by secreting helminth eggs with feces, which are swallowed by the first intermediate hosts (mollusks Bithyniidae).…”

“…Indicators of fish and mollusks infestation with O. felineus larvae are important in determining the infestation intensity (II) in the foci of opisthorchiasis, which determined the relevance of studies aimed at identifying the II of additional hosts of this helminthiasis (Simakova et al, 2021;Proskurina et al, 2020).…”

Results of Parasitological Research on Hydrobionts from Water Bodies in West Kazakhstan Region

“…Due to the focality of invasive diseases, they have to be considered regionally specific. Thus, a number of authors Aubakirov et al (2022), Proskurina et al (2020), Sultanov et al (2014) in medical periodicals indicate a rather significant focus of opistorchosis in northern and western Kazakhstan with annual incidence of up to 1500-1700 cases. There are also occasional reports of human and other animal cases of infectious diseases transmitted through fish and other ichthyofauna, such as anisacidosis (Nurzhanova et al 2022), ligulosis (Adilbekov et al 2020) and other diseases.…”