solium and Trichinella spp. In the SE Asian nations where T. solium is endemic, there exists a window of opportunity for a concerted effort to identify hot-spots of endemicity and pin-point control programs designed in consultation with effected communities. However, for this to be achieved, improved diagnostic methods for use in a multi-Taenia species environment are urgently required, a thorough understanding of pork supply networks and the

political will to deliver services to poor marginalised communities selleck chemical will also be important ( Conlan et al., 2009 and Willingham et al., 2010). In an environment where people have a preference for consuming uncooked or partially cooked meat from domestic or wild pigs, the control of trichinellosis will remain problematic. T. spiralis incidence will most likely

continue to decline in the more developed countries such as Thailand, but sporadic cases and outbreaks will continue to occur in Laos and Vietnam. Sensitisation of health officials to trichinellosis is required so that cases and outbreaks can be more thoroughly investigated and documented and the Trichinella worms circulating and causing disease in a population can be accurately identified ( Odermatt et al., 2010). The relative rarity of vector-borne protozoan diseases in SE Asia make it difficult to predict what impact environmental and socio-cultural changes will have on the distribution and incidence of P. knowlesi Thymidine kinase and Leishmania spp. infection. Like trichinellosis, health Selleckchem MK0683 officials will need to be sensitised to these parasitic zoonoses in the differential diagnosis for patients. In addition, vector competence studies will be important to effectively monitor the emergence of these medically important parasites. It is apparent that A. ceylanicum is highly endemic in the dog population of some SE Asian nations

with spill over into the human population. At this stage we do not have a good understanding of the clinical significance of A. ceylanicum, but historical data indicates that it does cause clinical disease. In areas where this zoonotic hookworm is prevalent in humans and dogs, the wide spread use of anthelmintics such as mebendazole in the human population will have limited impact on A. ceylanicum distribution and it may even provide a niche environment for A. ceylanicum to thrive ( Thompson and Conlan, in press). Therefore, the use of anthelmintics to control hookworm in dogs will need careful consideration to avoid clearing T. hydatigena from dogs and consequently altering the infection pressure on pigs, potentially creating a pig population with greater susceptibility to T. solium infection ( Thompson and Conlan, in press). The ecological changes currently taking place in SE Asia present new risks for the emergence or re-emergence of clinically important parasitic zoonoses while at the same time presenting new opportunities for disease control.