Work

Disentangling the transmission of Clonorchis sinensis: A one health approach

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Clonorchiasis, a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Clonorchis sinensis , remains a public health issue in East Asia. The full spectrum of suitable animal hosts has not been clearly delineated, and quantitative assessments systematically linking animal infections to human infection risks remain scarce. This study applied a One Health framework to investigate the role of various domestic animals as reservoir hosts and to quantify their association with human infection risk in an endemic region of China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2024 to March 2025 in five villages in Fusui County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. We collected fecal samples from 1013 human participants and 802 domestic animals (dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese). A two-level Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression model was employed to assess the association between village-level animal infection status and individual human infection risk, controlling for individual-level demographic and behavioral factors. The overall prevalence of C. sinensis infection in humans was 30.50 % (309/1013, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): 27.68–33.44 %). Among the eight animal species surveyed, infections were detected only in cats (5/53, 9.43 %; 95 % CI: 3.13–20.66 %) and dogs (1/169, 0.59 %; 95 % CI: 0.01–3.25 %). No infections were found in poultry or livestock. The Bayesian multilevel model revealed that after controlling for individual risk factors, the presence of C. sinensis infection in animals within a village was significantly associated with a 2.37-fold increase in the odds of human infection (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.37, 95 % CI: 1.23–3.58). Key individual-level risk factors included being male (aOR = 3.46, 95 % CI: 2.44–4.98) and having a history of consuming raw freshwater fish (aOR = 5.27, 95 % CI: 3.70–7.48). Our findings demonstrate that clonorchiasis is an important public health problem in the study area, and cats and dogs are the primary animal reservoir hosts for C. sinensis there, while poultry and livestock do not appear to participate in the local transmission cycle. The presence of infected animals in shared communities is significantly associated with an increased risk of human infection. • Clonorchis sinensis infection causes a high burden in the study area. • Cats and dogs are identified as local animal reservoirs for C. sinensis . • A shift from solely human-focused interventions to an integrated “One Health” strategy is expected.

Source: One Health

DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101249