Mekong schistosomiasis. 4. A parasitological survey of wild rodents, domestic pigs and cattle on Khong Island, Laos.

ABSTRACT

No evidence of infection with the Mekong Schistosoma was found in 12 Rattus exulans, 81 R. r. molliculus, and 10 Bandicota savilei caught in the vicinity of and downstream from the schistosomiasis transmission focus on Khong Island, South Laos, and examined by dissection and portal perfusion. Likewise, no eggs of the Mekong Schistosoma were detected in faeces of 15 domestic pigs or 43 domestic cattle examined on Khong Island both by merthiolate-iodine-formalin concentration and by the hatching technique. These results suggested that the wild rodents listed above, as well as pigs and cattle in the vicinity of Khong Town, may not contribute significantly to the transmission of the Mekong Schistosoma under present conditions.