[DNA diagnosis of mixed invasions of Opisthorchis felineus and Metorchis bilis by polymerase chain reaction].

Opisthorchiasis is one of the significant naturofocal diseases in Russia. The diagnosis of opisthorchiasis may mask some diseases, such as opisthorchiasis, metorchiasis, and clonorchiasis - biohelminthoses that are induced by various representatives of the family Opisthorchiidae-Opisthorchis felineus/O.viverrini, Metorchis bilis, and Clonorchis sinensis, respectively. Coproovoscopy and serologic methods fail to accurately define the species-specific affiliation; in this connection the identification of opisthorchids, by using DNA diagnostic techniques, becomes urgent. The present paper gives the results of development of DNA diagnosticum, which differentiates parasitic diseases induced by O. felineus and M. bills. The ribosomal RNA gene cluster fragment incorporating internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) was used as a diagnostic marker. A system for diagnosing opisthorchiasis was developed as a multiplex polymerase chain analysis and tested on 37 patients infected with various species of opisthorchids.