Prevalence of cercariae from Lymnaea stagnalis snails in a pond system in Southern Germany.
Lymnaea stagnalis snails were collected from 174 individual ponds of an extensive pond system in South Germany; 43,441 snails collected during 1980 2000 were examined for shedding cercariae. The species richness (at least 18 species of cercariae) and the high cercarial prevalence (at least 44.9%) may result from the high abundance and diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts in the area. The mean prevalence (% +/- SEM) of most cercarial species increased from May-June to August-October, e.g. in Diplostomum spathaceum from 4.1% to 18.6%, in all echinostomatids from 5.6% to 18.0%, in Pseudechinoparyphium echinatum from 3.0% to 11.2%, in Xiphidiocercariae from 2.2% to 13.4%, and the overall prevalence shifted from 13.7% to 53.5%. There was no change in the prevalence of the different cercarial species over the last 20 years. The agents of cercarial dermatitis showed a constant low prevalence, 0.17% in Trichobilharzia ocellata (43,441 L. stagnalis examined) and 0.24% in other Trichobilharzia species (4,245 Radix examined). Such low prevalences seem to be normal in areas where cercarial dermatitis occurs in humans.
Loy
C
C
Institut für Zoologie I, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Haas
W
W
D000818:Animals; D004450:Echinostomatidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005618:Fresh Water; D005858:Germany; D008195:Lymnaea / Q000469:parasitology*; D012621:Seasons; D014200:Trematoda / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*