Changes in serum antibodies to Opisthorchis viverrini in humans and hamsters following treatment of opisthorchiasis.

The liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini infects over 9 million individuals in northeastern Thailand, producing significant morbidity and a predisposition to the development of cholangiocarcinoma. 1 Diagnosis, performed by microscopic stool examination for the detection of liver fluke eggs, is not only timeconsuming, but may be false negative in the presence of biliary tract obstruction or light infections, and requires experties to distinguish liver fluke eggs from those of harmless intestinal flukes commonly found in Thailand.2 The development of a sensitive and specific serodiagnostic test would therefore be desirable.