Molecular Identification and Genetic Diversity of Cestodes in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two sub-regions, Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia. The former includes Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar (Burma), Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the latter includes Indonesia, the Philippines, East Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and East Timor. These tropical countries all have an environment and host populations suitable for infective helminths. Approximately ten million people in this region live in poor sanitary environments and are affected by a variety of neglected parasitic helminths and protozoan infections. In this chapter, we review the medically important tapeworms that are of public health concern in Southeast Asia with emphasis on molecular identification and genetic diversity.