Mekong schistosomiasis. 2. Evidence of the natural transmission of Schistosoma japonicum, Mekong strain, at Khong Island, Laos
Kitikoon, V.; Schneider, C.R.; Sornmani, S.; Harinasuta, C.; Lanza, G.R.
Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 4(3): 350-358
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0125-1562 PMID: 4768712 Document Number: 63362
Thirty mice were exposed for a total of 15 hours in floating cages in one to 2 feet of water in the Ban Xieng Wang area, Khong Island, Laos, in April 1971, but none of the 26 survivors became infected with Schistosoma japonicum. However, in April 1972, 11 of 18 surviving mice, exposed in the same area for a total of 40 hours, became infected. Between 1971 and 1972, there was a large increase in the numbers of Lithoglyphopsis aperta collected in sites around Khong Island. 26,659 snails were collected in 1972, more than half from the Ban Xieng Wang area. Of these, 48, all from Ban Xieng Wang, shed cercariae; this area would thus appear to be the main transmission site.t.