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However, information regarding species-specific identification is limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hookworm infection and identify the infecting species among humans, dogs, and cats in both northern and southern regions of the Lao PDR.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and July 2023 in Luangprabang Province (northern Lao PDR) and Champasak Province (southern Lao PDR). All residents aged 18\u00a0years and older who were present during the survey period and met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. In addition, dogs and cats owned by enrolled participants and\/or their household members were included. Hookworm infection was detected by identifying eggs in preserved stool samples using the formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique (FECT). Species identification was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer (\n                      <jats:italic>ITS<\/jats:italic>\n                      ) region to amplify\n                      <jats:italic>Necator americanus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (485\u00a0bp) and\n                      <jats:italic>Ancylostoma<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. (380\u00a0bp), followed by sequencing analysis of stool samples preserved in 70% ethanol. Descriptive statistics summarized hookworm prevalence in humans, dogs, and cats. Chi-square, Wilcoxon rank-sum, and Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests compared rates and means, with significance defined as\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 382 human participants, along with 37 dogs and 9 cats, completed all study procedures and were included in the analysis. Examination of preserved stool samples using FECT detected hookworm infection in 24.1% of humans (southern region: 36.6%; northern region: 11.8%) and in 76.1% of dogs and cats combined, with the highest prevalence observed in the southern region (92.6%). Molecular analysis identified\n                      <jats:italic>N. americanus<\/jats:italic>\n                      as the predominant species in humans (64.6%), followed by\n                      <jats:italic>A. ceylanicum<\/jats:italic>\n                      (20.5%). Among dogs and cats,\n                      <jats:italic>N. americanus<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>A. caninum<\/jats:italic>\n                      were each detected in 39.1% of samples, while\n                      <jats:italic>A. ceylanicum<\/jats:italic>\n                      accounted for 13.0%.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study demonstrates a high prevalence of zoonotic hookworm infections in humans, dogs, and cats, highlighting the potential for interspecies transmission that complicates current prevention and control measures. Implementation of integrated control strategies\u2014such as the One Health approach\u2014that simultaneously address human and animal reservoirs is essential for achieving effective and sustainable hookworm control in the Lao PDR.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-025-01403-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T01:01:07Z","timestamp":1768870867000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Molecular identification of hookworm infection in humans, dogs and cats in Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8219-9567","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Somphou","family":"Sayasone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chomseng","family":"Norkhankham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sysouphanh","family":"Many","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anousin","family":"Homsana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tawin","family":"Inpankaew","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Odermatt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"1403_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e72","DOI":"10.1016\/S2666-5247(21)00181-6","volume":"3","author":"ACA Clements","year":"2022","unstructured":"Clements ACA, Addis AK. 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The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Lao National Health Research Ethics Committee (No.025\/NECHR, dated 23 May 2023). All study participants have voluntarily participated in the study. A written informed consent was obtained from each participant before their enrolment. The names of respondents were not included in the questionnaires, and data were fully anonymized to ensure participants' privacy. Before the data collection, a researcher explained the study objective, methodology, and possible risks to each study participant. The enrolment of dogs and cats was approved by their owners.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"Somphou Sayasone is an editorial board member of the journal\n                      Infectious Diseases of Poverty\n                      . He was not involved in the peer-review or handling of the manuscript. The authors have no other competing interests to disclose.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Completing interests"}}],"article-number":"13"}}