EPIDEMIOLOGY
Ash (1997), Sun(1999)

30 million people in southeastern Asia alone, and more than 50 million worldwide are infected with Opisthorchiasis.

Image taken from the Atlas of Medical Parasitology website

COUNTRY INFORMATION
Sun (1999)

O. viverrini parasitizes Thailand, Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Kampuchea

O. felineus parasitizes South, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the former USSR

There is potential for Opisthorchiasis infection in Equador as there is a parasite known as Opisthorchis guayaquilensis reported in humans and dogs.

In North America, the parasite Metorchis conjunctus, which is also a member of the family Opisthorchiidae, occasionally infects humans and is found in the bile ducts of dogs, cats, foxes, minks, and raccoons. Humans are generally not infected, as they are unlikely to consume the second intermediate host, which is the common suckerfish.