Detection of Risk Groups for Carcinogenic Liver Fluke Infection by Verbal Screening Questionnaire Using a Mobile Application

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

1 Parasitic Disease Research Center, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand.

2 Family Medicine and Community Medicine, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand.

3 Faculty of Management Science, Rajabhat University, Thailand.

4 Faculty of Public Health, Vongchavalitkul University, Thailand.

5 Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Roi-Et Rajabhat University, Thailand.

6 Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

Abstract

The carcinogenic liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, is a serious health problem in Southeast Asia where infection
is associated with cholangiocarcinoma, a major cause of death in Thailand. This cross-sectional study aimed to screen
for O. viverrini infection among a Thai rural population of 560 individuals from Nakhon Ratchasima, Khonkaen, and
Chaiyaphum provinces with a verbal screening test with a mobile application (OvApp). Faecal samples were also
processed with a mini-parasep sf parasite faecal concentrator. The infection rate of O. viverrini was found to be 2.86%.
The majority of infections were detected in males aged 41–50, with primary school being their highest education level, and
who were engaged in agricultural occupations. In screening for O. viverrini infection, the OvApp had a high sensitivity
(87.5%), specificity (94.6%), negative predictive value (98.9%), and accuracy (98.6%). The positive predictive value
was 70.0% for the OvApp. The observed agreement was substantial for this application (k-value = 0.64) indicated that
it is a potentially useful tool for decreasing the cost of large-scale O. viverrini screening.

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