title: Avian schistosomes and outbreaks of cercarial dermatitis.
abstract: Cercarial dermatitis (swimmer's itch) is a condition caused by infective larvae (cercariae) of a species-rich group of mammalian and avian schistosomes. Over the last decade, it has been reported in areas that previously had few or no cases of dermatitis and is thus considered an emerging disease. It is obvious that avian schistosomes are responsible for the majority of reported dermatitis outbreaks around the world, and thus they are the primary focus of this review. Although they infect humans, they do not mature and usually die in the skin. Experimental infections of avian schistosomes in mice show that in previously exposed hosts, there is a strong skin immune reaction that kills the schistosome. However, penetration of larvae into naive mice can result in temporary migration from the skin. This is of particular interest because the worms are able to migrate to different organs, for example, the lungs in the case of visceral schistosomes and the central nervous system in the case of nasal schistosomes. The risk of such migration and accompanying disorders needs to be clarified for humans and animals of interest (e.g., dogs). Herein we compiled the most comprehensive review of the diversity, immunology, and epidemiology of avian schistosomes causing cercarial dermatitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic petrhorak@petrhorak.eu.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9820-5044
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Horák
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Libor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mikeš
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lichtenbergová
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Vladimír
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Skála
authors.affiliation: Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Miroslava
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soldánová
authors.affiliation: Museum Southwestern Biology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: Sara Vanessa
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Brant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D001717:Birds; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D058507:Host Specificity; D006801:Humans; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012876:Skin Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000517:prevention & control