A pilot screening of prevalence of atopic states and opisthorchosis and their relationship in people of Tomsk Oblast

The study was aimed to estimate the relationship between the prevalence of allergic disease and helminth invasion by the trematode Opisthorchis felineus in rural and urban populations of Tomsk Oblast (West Siberia, Russia). Two hundred and one people from Kargasok village of Tomsk Oblast and 196 from the city of Tomsk were screened for the presence of atopy and O. felineus invasion. Opisthorchosis was found in 66 participants (32.8%) from Kargasok and in 22 people (11.2%) from Tomsk. Atopic diseases were more common in the urban population than in the rural: 52.8 and 31.4%, respectively. Positive skin-prick tests were significantly higher in the urban population than in rural people: 83.2 vs 24.4%, respectively. It was found that in the city, the presence of antibodies to O. felineus negatively correlates with the atopic sensitization by skin-prick tests. However, in the village, opisthorchosis was positively associated with atopic diseases. The data obtained confirm the negative association of rural lifestyle and atopic diseases prevalence and indicate that O. felineus invasion might be a modifying factor of this relationship in Tomsk Oblast.