Objective: To understand the endemic situation and impact factors of paragonimiasis in Sichuan Province, so as to provide the evidence for its control work.
Methods: Four administrative villages from Xuanhan County, Kaijiang County, Pengzhou City and Yucheng District of Ya'an City were selected as regular surveillance sites. In the surveillance sites, ELISA was applied to test the infection situation of residents, questionnaire surveys were performed simultaneously; and water crabs were collected to detect the metacercariae of Paragonimus.
Results: From 2011 to 2013, totally 3 666 residents were tested by serum test and 104 of them were positive with a positive rate of 2.8%. Totally 3 671 residents underwent the questionnaire survey and 24.8% of them had heard about paragonimiasis, 36.3% had eaten undercooked water crabs, 56.4% had played with water crabs, and 84.6% had drunk stream water. Totally 2 463 water crabs were dissected, and metacercariae of Paragonimus were found in 620 of them with the infection rate of 25.2% and infectiosity of 4.53 per crab, respectively.
Conclusions: The endemic situation of paragonimiasis in natural environments is serious in Sichuan Province. The residents in endemic area practice unhealthy diet behavior, and there is an urgent risk of the breakout of paragonimiasis.