Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts link, Block AS2, 117568, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Parasitology and Cholangiocarcinoma Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, 123 Mittraphap Rd, Mueang Khon Kaen District, 40002, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
Infect Dis Poverty. 2023 Apr 19;12(1):38. doi: 10.1186/s40249-023-01079-y.
The direct reliance of humans on and their interactions with freshwater ecosystems in the Lower Mekong Basin have given rise to parasitic infections, which is particularly prevalent in Northeast Thailand where raw fish consumption is practiced. This study examined the interactions between environments, ecosystem (dis-)services, human raw fish consumption habits, and raw fish dish sharing on liver fluke infection risk.
Water fecal contents and the first intermediate snail host were sampled between June and September of 2019. One hundred twenty questionnaires were surveyed in two villages of different environmental surroundings, one next to a river and the other located inland, in Northeast Thailand. Multivariate regression analyses using linear mixed effect models assessed the influence of social, behavioral and perceptual factors on raw fish consumption frequency, willingness to avoid consumption and liver fluke infection status. Social network analysis compared the degree of raw fish dish sharing between the villages and assessed the probable influence of connections to fish procurement locations and sharing activities on liver fluke infection risk.
High abundance of the first intermediate snail host and presence of fecal contamination in water could endanger both villages to ecosystem disservices of parasitic transmission. The river-side village relied more on provisioning ecosystem services than the inland village (29.7% vs. 16.1% of villages) to consume raw fish as their main source of protein. Males in both villages (64.5 and 40.4 days/year for the respective villages) are also likely to consume koi pla and pla som, higher risk fish dishes, more frequently than females (4.1 and 4.3 days/year for the respective villages). The consumption habits of both villages were driven mostly by deriving cultural ecosystem services. Participation in raw fish dish sharing activities significantly reduced the odds of an individual being willing to avoid the consumption (Odds ratio = 0.19). Network analysis suggested that river-side villagers had a more direct raw fish dish sharing interaction and they procured fish from multiple locations; these characteristics might potentially account for more liver fluke infected households in the village.
Villagers' raw fish consumption is driven by deriving cultural ecosystem services, and the geographic settings of the villages potentially affect villagers' fish procurement locations and infection risk. The findings underscore the linkages between villagers and their surrounding ecosystem environments as pertinent determinants for foodborne parasitic disease risk.
人类直接依赖湄公河下游流域的淡水生态系统并与之相互作用，由此引发了寄生虫感染，在泰国东北部，这种情况尤为普遍，因为当地人有食用生鱼的习惯。本研究旨在调查环境、生态系统（服务）、人类食用生鱼习惯以及生鱼菜肴共享之间的相互作用，以评估肝吸虫感染风险。
于 2019 年 6 月至 9 月期间采集水粪样和第一中间宿主蜗牛。在泰国东北部的两个村庄（一个位于河边，另一个位于内陆）共调查了 120 份问卷。使用线性混合效应模型的多变量回归分析评估了社会、行为和认知因素对生鱼食用频率、避免食用意愿和肝吸虫感染状况的影响。社会网络分析比较了两个村庄之间生鱼菜肴共享的程度，并评估了与鱼类采购地点和共享活动的联系对肝吸虫感染风险的可能影响。
第一中间宿主蜗牛的高丰度和水中粪便污染的存在可能对两个村庄的生态系统服务造成不利影响，从而导致寄生虫传播。河边村庄比内陆村庄更依赖于提供生态系统服务（29.7%和 16.1%），将生鱼作为其主要蛋白质来源。两个村庄的男性（分别为 64.5 和 40.4 天/年）比女性（分别为 4.1 和 4.3 天/年）更有可能经常食用 koi pla 和 pla som 等高风险鱼类菜肴。两个村庄的消费习惯主要受文化生态系统服务的驱动。参与生鱼菜肴共享活动显著降低了个人避免食用的意愿（优势比=0.19）。网络分析表明，河边村庄的生鱼菜肴共享互动更为直接，而且他们从多个地点采购鱼类；这些特征可能是导致村庄中肝吸虫感染家庭更多的潜在因素。
村民的生鱼消费受文化生态系统服务的驱动，村庄的地理位置可能影响村民的鱼类采购地点和感染风险。研究结果强调了村民及其周围生态环境之间的联系，这些联系是食源性寄生虫病风险的重要决定因素。
