GENETIC ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT CLONORCHIS SINENSIS EGGS ATTAINED FROM GORYEONG MUMMY OF JOSEON DYNASTY PERIOD.

Although Clonorchis sinensis is a parasite that still infects many people in East Asia, its genetics remain largely unknown. We conducted ancient DNA analysis of C. sinensis eggs obtained from a Joseon period mummy newly discovered in South Korea. Clonorchis sinensis DNA was amplified for internal transcribed spacer 1, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 and 5 genes. The results of BLAST/NCBI showed that the consensus sequences were 98.24 to 100% identical to the modern and ancient C. sinensis sequences reported from Korea, China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Our report helps to fill in the genetic profile of ancient C. sinensis strains that infected East Asian people hundreds of years ago.

Review of the control of clonorchiasis in Shandong Province, China from 1962 to 2015.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemic scope, epidemic pattern and degree of damage of clonorchiasis as well as to summarize the diagnosis and control effect of clonorchiasis in Shandong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to summarize the research on the dynamic epidemiology and the prevention and treatment measures of clonorchiasis in Shandong Province, China from 1962 to 2015. RESULTS: After unremitting efforts and three nationwide surveys on the distribution and infection of human parasites, the infection rate of clonorchiasis decreased from 1.51% (1,500, 000) in the1960s to 0.16% in 1991, 0.04% in 2000 and 0.007% in 2015, respectively. The infection rate for villages with perennial water accumulation and rainy season water accumulation was higher than that of villages with rainy season water accumulation and non-water accumulation. The egg flotation in 70% potassium iodide solution method was applied to accurately test the specific proportion of C. sinensis eggs, which was 1.42. Using the modified Kato thick smear method, the detection rate of eggs was over 98%; hexachloroparaxylene yielded satisfactory therapeutic effects with slight adverse reactions, it is effective in the treatment of clonorchiasis. CONCLUSIONS: After 50 years of active prevention and treatment, the disease has been successfully controlled in Shandong Province and had been used for reference in other endemic areas of clonorchiasis in China.

Differential Change in the Prevalence of the Ascaris, Trichuris and Clonorchis infection Among Past East Asian Populations.

As we learn more about parasites in ancient civilizations, data becomes available that can be used to see how infection may change over time. The aim of this study is to assess how common certain intestinal parasites were in China and Korea in the past 2000 years, and make comparisons with prevalence data from the 20th century. This allows us to go on to investigate how and why changes in parasite prevalence may have occurred at different times. Here we show that Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) dropped markedly in prevalence in both Korea and China earlier than did roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) and whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). We use historical evidence to determine why this was the case, exploring the role of developing sanitation infrastructure, changing use of human feces as crop fertilizer, development of chemical fertilizers, snail control programs, changing dietary preferences, and governmental public health campaigns during the 20th century.

Increasing prevalence and intensity of foodborne clonorchiasis, Hengxian County, China, 1989-2011.

During 1989-2011, three parasitic disease surveys were conducted in Hengxian County, China, where soil-transmitted helminthiases and foodborne clonorchiasis are endemic. We compared the data and found that the prevalence of helminthiases decreased and the prevalence and intensity of clonorchiasis increased over time, especially among men. Clonorchiasis control/intervention measures are urgently needed in this area.

Clonorchiasis--a historical review of contributions of Japanese parasitologists.

In the early stage of research on Clonorchis and clonorchiasis, Japanese parasitologists made a tremendous contribution on the elucidation of the life cycle of this parasite and on the epidemiology of the disease. Harujiro Kobayashi first identified cyprinoid fish as the second intermediate hosts for Clonorchis sinensis in 1912, Subsequently Parafossarulus snails were identified as the first intermediate host by Masatomo Muto in 1918. Kenso Ishisaka recorded the first human case of clonorchiasis in Japan in 1877, and two Japanese clinicians, Shigeru Matsumoto and Tsukasa Ohi, recorded the endemic nature of this disease in Korea and Taiwan respectively, in the same year, 1915.

Chinese liver flukes in latrine sediments from Wong Nim's property, San Bernardino, California: archaeoparasitology of the Caltrans District Headquarters.

Parasitological analysis of 5 sediment samples from San Bernardino, California latrine deposits spanning the time period from about 1880 to the 1930s are presented. Two sediment samples are from a latrine used by European-Americans. Three sediment samples are from latrines used by Chinese-Americans on the property of Wong Nim, an important member of the Chinese community. Two of the Chinese latrines were positive for human parasites. The human parasites encountered include the human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), the giant intestinal roundworm (Ascaris lubricoides, c.f.), and the Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis). Evidence of the liver fluke is especially important. This parasite cannot complete its life cycle outside of its endemic range in Asia because suitable intermediate hosts are not present in the American continents. Its presence signals that at least some of the Chinese-Americans who used the latrines were immigrants who were infected in Asia and then sustained infections while in the Americas.

Paleoparasitological report on the stool from a Medieval child mummy in Yangju, Korea.

Previous studies have successfully shown evidence for parasitic infections in human remains from various archaeological sites. However, in the case of Korea, since there have been very few paleoparasitological reports published, pre-20th century parasitic infection patterns remain obscure. Therefore, in order to partly fill this gap, we are reporting on a case of paleoparasitic infection from the feces of a 15th century child mummy from Yangju, Korea. In the course of the present study, we found the eggs of Clonorchis sinensis, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Trichuris trichiura in the feces of the mummy. Trichuris trichiura eggs were found in far greater numbers than other parasite eggs; in fact, intact bipolar plugs were clearly observed and even the larvae were still visible in some eggs. The eggs of C. sinensis and A. lumbricoides were also well preserved, though not in as great a number. Since we could find a number of well-preserved larvae-containing eggs, we are encouraged that successful extraction, amplification, and sequence determination of ancient DNA from the paleoparasite eggs might be possible in future studies. With additional paleoparasitological investigation using feces from Korean mummies, we hope that a history of parasite infection in Korea will be reconstructed.