Folia Parasitologica 65:013 (2018) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2018.013

Behaviour and eating habits as determinants for human opisthorchiasis in the Bolsena Lake area, Italy

Paola Scaramozzino¹, Roberto Condoleo¹, Enrica Martini², Teresa Bossù¹, Silvia Aquilani³, Valentina Spallucci¹, Elisabetta Aquilini¹, Selene Marozzi¹

¹ Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana M. Aleandri, Rome, Italy;

² Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Viterbo, Servizio Veterinario, Viterbo, Italy;

³ Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Viterbo, Dipartimento di Prevenzione Servizio di Igiene, Viterbo, Italy

In Italy, food-borne outbreaks of opisthorchiasis have occurred since 2003, all of them originating from some lakes in Central Italy where the only European liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus (Rivolta, 1884) is endemic. The aim of the present study is to investigate the factors that may facilitate the life cycle of O. felineus in the area of Bolsena Lake, the knowledge of the local population about opisthorchiasis, and preventative healthcare measures. We performed a descriptive observational study through the submission of questionnaires to three target populations: fishermen who fish exclusively in Bolsena Lake, restaurateurs whose businesses are close to the lake and general population living in the province of Viterbo. Results showed hazardous behaviours and eating habits in the three target populations, as well as a poor knowledge of opisthorchiasis and preventative healthcare measures.

Keywords: Opisthorchis felineus, questionnaire, risk factors

Received: April 19, 2018; Accepted: June 24, 2018; Published online: September 14, 2018  Show citation