This study aimed to investigate the infection status and species diversity of trematode cercariae in freshwater snails from canal networks in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), Thailand. The snails were collected from 35 sites during 2 cycles of the wet (July–October) and dry (November–June) seasons in 2018–2019. A total of 29,420 snails representing 24 species/subspecies were examined for cercarial infection using shedding and crushing techniques. We found that 1,275 snails from 12 species/subspecies were infected, resulting in an overall prevalence of 4.3%. Infections were significantly higher (p<0.001) during the wet season (5.9%; 970/16,473) than during the dry season (2.4%; 305/12,947). Morphological identification revealed 37 distinct types within 15 morphotypes, with the armatae morphotype showing the highest infection rate (1.8%) and the greatest cercarial diversity (8 distinct types). This study highlights the health risk posed by the Bithynia siamensis siamensis, which was the second most prevalent (8.5%) and hosted the greatest cercarial diversity (11 morphotypes, 15 distinct types). This subspecies also displayed a wide distribution range (31 localities) with a generally high occurrence frequency in the BMR. This study firstly documents a gymnophallid digenean as a freshwater digenean, presenting evidence of a dichotoma cercarial morphotype from 4 species/subspecies (Filopaludina martensi martensi, F. sumatrensis polygramma, B. siamensis siamensis, and Wattebledia siamensis) with a low infection range (0.1–0.4%). A staggering diversity of cercariae was observed in the BMR canal networks with seasonal fluctuations. The B. siamensis siamensis displayed notable epidemiological importance in the BMR flowing-water networks. This study provides quantitative and qualitative morphological descriptions and measurement guidelines for the dichotoma cercaria in Thailand.
Adult worms of Parvatrema spp. (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were found in the intestines of 2 species of migratory birds, i.e., a great knot, Calidris tenuirostris, and 2 Mongolian plovers, Charadrius mongolus, in the coastal area of Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do in October 2009. The recovered Parvatrema worms were 79 in total number and composed of 2 species. The worms from a great knot were 289 ?m in length with the oral and ventral sucker ratio of 2 : 1. They had a single vitellarium, and their intrauterine eggs were 25.0 × 17.5 ?m in size. These findings were compatible with P. duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974 (syn. P. timondavidi Bartoli, 1963). The worms recovered from the Mongolian plovers were smaller in length than P. duboisi and had 2 vitellaria. The oral and ventral sucker ratio was 2.5 : 1, and the eggs were 17.5 × 8.8 ?m in size. These worms were assigned to be P. homoeotecnum James, 1964. This is the first report on the natural final hosts of Parvatrema spp. in Korea.
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