Potential Transmission of Human Fascioliasis Through Traditional Local Foods, in Northern Iran

Abstract

Ingestion of infective metacercariae, attached to watercress or other various species of water and terrestrial plants, has been implicated as the main source of human contamination by fasciolid flukes. Presence of several species of aromatic wild grown plants, which are eaten fresh on the table or used for preparation of some plant-made foods (Delar, mixture of salt and ground local plants, as a paste and Zeitoon-Parvardeh , olives in walnut sauce, as an appetizer) have been suggested to play a role in human contamination in the endemic zone of fascioliasis, in Gilan province, northern Iran. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of ingredients using for preparation of these local foods on viability and infectivity of liver fluke metacercariae. Metacercariae for this study were obtained by experimental infections of Lymnaea gedrosiana, collected from Bandar Anzali endemic zone. The viability and infectivity of metacercariae kept in Zeitoon-Parvardeh and Delar was checked by microscopical analyses and animal infection assays. The results indicate the possibility of human contamination following consumption of these traditional foods when prepared with fresh vegetables presenting attached metacercariae.