Strongyloides stercoralis seroprevalence in Vietnam

<jats:title>SUMMARY</jats:title><jats:p>Strongyloidiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the roundworm <jats:italic>Strongyloides stercoralis</jats:italic> affecting 30–100 million people worldwide. Many Southeast-Asian countries report a high prevalence of <jats:italic>S. stercoralis</jats:italic> infection, but there are little data from Vietnam. Here, we evaluated the seroprevalence of <jats:italic>S. stercoralis</jats:italic> related to geography, sex and age in Vietnam through serological testing of anonymized sera. Sera (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 1710, 1340 adults and 270 children) from an anonymized age-stratified serum bank from four regions in Vietnam between 2012 and 2013 were tested using a commercial <jats:italic>Strongyloides ratti</jats:italic> immunoglobulin G ELISA. Seroreactivity was found in 29·1% (390/1340) of adults and 5·5% (15/270) of children. Male adults were more frequently seroreactive than females (33·3% <jats:italic>vs.</jats:italic> 24·9%, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0·001). The rural central highlands had the highest seroprevalence (42·4% of adults). Seroreactivity in the other regions was 29·9% (Hue) and 26·0% and 18·2% in the large urban centres of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, respectively. We conclude that seroprevalence of <jats:italic>S. stercoralis</jats:italic> was high in the Vietnamese adult population, especially in rural areas.</jats:p>