Studies on trematodes of the family Heterophyidae (Odhner, 1914) in Iran: 1. Preliminary epidemiological surveys in man and carnivores in Khuzestan.

Trematodes of the family Heterophyidae in man and carnivores were studied in Khuzestan, south-west Iran. Eight hundred and eleven stool samples from a population of 3400 in 13 villages in a swampy area located in central Khuzestan were examined by the formalin-ether concentration technique. The following helminths were found: Ascaris lumbricoides 7%, Trichostrongylus spp. 53%, hookworms 4+, Trichuris trichiura 5%, Hymenolepis nana 12% and heterophyid spp. 8%. Post-mortem examination of carnivores revealed that 14.2% of jackals, 33.3% of foxes and 2.5% of dogs were infected with heterophyids, namely Metagonimus yokogawai, Heterophyes heterophyes and H. katsuradai. The freshwater snails Melanoides and Melanopsis spp. and brackish water fishes Barbus spp. and Mugil spp. were thought to be the intermediate hosts of these flukes in this area. This is the first report of heterophyid infection in man and carnivores in Iran.