Authors: Anne Ø Christiansen Annette Olsen Kurt Buchmann Per W Kania Peter Nejsum Birgitte J Vennervald
Publish Date: 2015/11/17
Volume: 115, Issue: 3, Pages: 1027-1037
Abstract
Avian schistosomes are widespread parasites of snails and waterfowl and may cause cercarial dermatitis swimmer’s itch in humans a disease that is frequently reported in European countries These parasites are known to occur in Denmark but here we applied a new approach using molecular tools to identify the parasites at species level In order to do that 499 pulmonate freshwater snails Radix sp Lymnaea stagnalis Stagnicola sp and Planorbarius corneus were sampled from 12 lakes ponds and marshes in the greater Copenhagen area Avian schistosome cercariae were identified by microscopy and subjected to molecular investigation by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the 58S and ITS2 ribosomal DNA for species identification Additionally snail hosts belonging to the genus Radix were identified by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of partial ITS2 ribosomal DNA Three out of 499 snails shed different species of Trichobilharzia cercariae Trichobilharzia szidati was isolated from L stagnalis Trichobilharzia franki from Radix auricularia and Trichobilharzia regenti from Radix peregra In the light of the public health risk represented by bird schistosomes these findings are of concern and particularly the presence of the potentially neuropathogenic species T regenti in Danish freshwaters calls for attention
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