Seroprevalence of Human Fasciolosis in a New-Emerging Focus of Fasciolosis in Yasuj District, Southwest of Iran

BACKGROUND: Fasciolosis is an important health and veterinary problem in Iran. The epidemiological pattern of disease has been changed markedly in recent years and there are regions that have potent capacity to be new focus of the disease. One of these areas is Yasuj district in southwest of Iran where animal fasciolosis has been quite common. The current study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of human fasciolosis in this area and to reveal the epidemiological factors associated with the spreading of the disease in this region. METHODS: One thousand blood samples were randomly collected from five villages in Yasuj district. ELISA, using Fasciola somatic antigen (SA), was carried out to detect anti Fasciola antibodies in the collected sera. RESULTS: Anti-Fasciola antibodies were detected in serum of 18(1.86%) individuals by ELISA. Out of 18 seropositive people, 9 (0.9) were female and 9 (0.9%) were male. Most of people (99.8%) had a history of consuming wild freshwater plants mainly Nasturtium microphyllum (local name Bakaloo) and/or Mentha logifolia (local name Pooneh). No significant correlation was found between seropositivity to fasciolosis and sex, age, history of consumption of green leafy aquatic plants whereas correlation between seropositivity and abdominal pain was significant (P< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Results of this study showed that the seroprevalence rate of human fasciolosis in Yasuj district is relatively high and this area can be considered as a new emerging focus of the disease in Iran.