scholarly journals The chemotactic swimming behavior of bird schistosome miracidia in the presence of compatible and incompatible snail hosts

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9487
Author(s):  
Anna Marszewska ◽  
Anna Cichy ◽  
Jana Bulantová ◽  
Petr Horák ◽  
Elżbieta Żbikowska
Keyword(s):  
Tap Water ◽  
Parasite Prevalence ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Swimming Behavior ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Host Snail ◽  
Bird Schistosome ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Secretory Products ◽  
Swimmer's Itch

No effective method has yet been developed to prevent the threat posed by the emerging disease—cercarial dermatitis (swimmer’s itch), caused by infective cercariae of bird schistosomes (Digenea: Schistosomatidae). In our previous studies, the New Zealand mud snail—Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1853; Gastropoda, Tateidae)—was used as a barrier between the miracidia of Trichobilharzia regenti and the target snails Radix balthica. Since the presence of non-indigenous snails reduced the parasite prevalence under laboratory conditions, we posed three new research questions: (1) Do bird schistosomes show totally perfect efficacy for chemotactic swimming behavior? (2) Do the larvae respond to substances emitted by incompatible snail species? (3) Do the excretory-secretory products of incompatible snail species interfere with the search for a compatible snail host? The experiments were carried out in choice-chambers for the miracidia of T. regenti and T. szidati. The arms of the chambers, depending on the variant, were filled with water conditioned by P. antipodarum, water conditioned by lymnaeid hosts, and dechlorinated tap water. Miracidia of both bird schistosome species chose more frequently the water conditioned by snails—including the water conditioned by the incompatible lymnaeid host and the alien species, P. antipodarum. However, species-specific differences were noticed in the behavior of miracidia. T. regenti remained more often inside the base arm rather than in the arm filled with water conditioned by P. antipodarum or the control arm. T. szidati, however, usually left the base arm and moved to the arm filled with water conditioned by P. antipodarum. In conclusion, the non-host snail excretory-secretory products may interfere with the snail host-finding behavior of bird schistosome miracidia and therefore they may reduce the risk of swimmer’s itch.

scholarly journals Potamopyrgus antipodarumas a potential defender against swimmer’s itch in European recreational water bodies—experimental study

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Marszewska ◽  
Anna Cichy ◽  
Jana Bulantová ◽  
Petr Horák ◽  
Elżbieta Żbikowska
Keyword(s):  
Water Bodies ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Snail Population ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Host Snail ◽  
Bird Schistosome ◽  
Working People ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Swimmer's Itch ◽  
Resistance To Invasion

Swimmer’s itch is a re-emerging human disease caused by bird schistosome cercariae, which can infect bathing or working people in water bodies. Even if cercariae fail after penetrating the human skin, they can cause dangerous symptoms in atypical mammal hosts. One of the natural methods to reduce the presence of cercariae in the environment could lie in the introduction of non–host snail species to the ecosystem, which is known as the “dilution” or “decoy” effect. The caenogastropodPotamopyrgus antipodarum—an alien in Europe—could be a good candidate against swimmer’s itch because of its apparent resistance to invasion by European bird schistosome species and its high population density. As a pilot study on this topic, we have carried out a laboratory experiment on howP. antipodaruminfluences the infestation of the intermediate hostRadix balthica(a native lymnaeid) by the bird schistosomeTrichobilharzia regenti. We found that the co–exposure of 200P. antipodarumindividuals per oneR. balthicato theT. regentimiracidia under experimental conditions makes the infestation ineffective. Our results show that a non–host snail population has the potential to interfere with the transmission of a trematode via suitable snail hosts.

scholarly journals Can Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gastropoda) affect the prevalence of Trichobilharzia szidati in Lymnaea stagnalis populations?

2021 ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Żbikowska ◽  
Anna Stanicka ◽  
Anna Cichy ◽  
Janusz Żbikowski
Keyword(s):  
Lymnaea Stagnalis ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Potamopyrgus Antipodarum ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Host Snail ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Good Potential ◽  
Swimmer's Itch ◽  
Zoonotic Parasites

Swimmer's itch is an emerging disease caused by bird schistosomes affecting people all over the world. Lymnaeidae − main host snails in Europe − are the source of harmful cercariae of these zoonotic parasites. The aim of this work was to determine whether Polish lakes, inhabited by Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray, 1843), result in a lower potential risk of swimmer's itch compared to lakes uninhabited by this non-native snail species. As a result of the dilution effect created by increasing the diversity of co-occurring non-host targets for miracidia, the risk of this zoonosis may be reduced. We studied the prevalence of digenean trematodes in Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) populations from 30 water bodies partly inhabited by P. antipodarum. The bird schistosome infection in snail hosts was found in five lakes inhabited and 11 lakes uninhabited by the non-native snails. The prevalence of these parasitesin host snail populations in the lakes uninhabited was significantly higher than in lakes inhabited by P. antipodarum. We conclude that P. antipodarum seems to be a good potential target for reducing the risk of swimmer's itch via the dilution effect. We expect from our point of view to stimulate a discussion on the use of this species to protect bathing areas against the threat of swimmer's itch.

scholarly journals Invaders as Diluents of the Cercarial Dermatitis Etiological Agent

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 740
Author(s):  
Anna Stanicka ◽  
Łukasz Migdalski ◽  
Katarzyna Szopieray ◽  
Anna Cichy ◽  
Łukasz Jermacz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alien Species ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Bird Schistosome ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Swimmer's Itch

Research on alien and invasive species focuses on the direct effects of invasion on native ecosystems, and the possible positive effects of their presence are most often overlooked. Our aim was to check the suitability of selected alien species (the snail Physa acuta, the bivalve Dreissena polymorpha, and the gammarid Dikerogammarus villosus) as diluents for infectious bird schistosome cercariae—the etiological factor of swimmer’s itch. It has been hypothesized that alien species with different feeding habits (scrapers, filterers and predators) that cohabit the aquatic environment with intermediate hosts of the schistosomatid trematodes are capable of feeding on their free-swimming stages—cercariae. In the laboratory conditions used, all experimental animals diluted the cercariae of bird schistosome. The most effective diluents were P. acuta and D. villosus. However, a wide discrepancy in the dilution of the cercariae between replicates was found for gammarids. The obtained results confirm the hypothesis that increased biodiversity, even when alien species are involved, creates the dilution effect of the free-living stages of parasites. Determining the best diluent for bird schistosome cercariae could greatly assist in the development of current bathing areas protection measures against swimmer’s itch.

scholarly journals Transient definitive host presence is sufficient to sustain avian schistosome populations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney P Rudko ◽  
Brooke A McPhail ◽  
Ronald L Reimink ◽  
Kelsey Froelich ◽  
Alyssa Turnbull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Definitive Host ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Lake Ecosystem ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Control Effort ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
The Common ◽  
Common Merganser ◽  
Swimmer's Itch

To control swimmer's itch in northern Michigan inland lakes, one species of bird, the common merganser (Mergus merganser), has been relocated from several lakes since 2015. Relocation efforts are driven by a desire to reduce the prevalence of the swimmer's itch-causing parasite Trichobilharzia stagnicolae. The intention of this state-sponsored control effort was to interrupt the life cycle of T. stagnicolae and reduce parasite egg contribution into the environment from summer resident mergansers such that infections of the intermediate snail host Stagnicola emarginata declined. Reduced snail infection prevalence was expected to greatly reduce abundance of the swimmer's itch-causing cercarial stage of the parasite in water. With no official program in place to assess the success of this relocation effort, we sought to study the effectiveness and impact of the removal of a single definitive host from a location with high definitive host and parasite diversity. This was assessed through a comprehensive, lake-wide monitoring study measuring longitudinal changes in the abundance of three species of avian schistosome cercariae in four inland Michigan lakes. Environmental measurements were also taken at these lakes to understand how they can affect swimmer's itch incidence. Results from this study demonstrate that the diversity of avian schistosomes at the study lakes would likely make targeting of a single species of swimmer's itch-causing parasite meaningless from a swimmer's itch control perspective. Our data also suggest that removal of the common merganser is not an effective control strategy for the T. stagnicolae parasite, likely due to parasite contributions of migratory birds in the fall and spring. This suggests that only minimal contact time between the definitive host and the lake ecosystem is required to contribute sufficient parasite numbers to maintain a thriving population of parasite species with a high host-specificity.

scholarly journals The genus Bilharziella vs. other bird schistosomes in snail hosts from one of the major recreational lakes in Poland

2021 ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Anna Stanicka ◽  
Łukasz Migdalski ◽  
Kamila Stefania Zając ◽  
Anna Cichy ◽  
Dorota Lachowska-Cierlik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lymnaea Stagnalis ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Sensitive Skin ◽  
Infective Larvae ◽  
Bird Schistosome ◽  
Blood Flukes ◽  
European Water ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Swimmer's Itch

Bird schistosomes are commonly established as the causative agent of swimmer's itch − a hyper-sensitive skin reaction to the penetration of their infective larvae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of the genus Bilharziella in comparison to other bird schistosome species from Lake Drawsko − one of the largest recreational lakes in Poland, struggling with the huge problem of swimmer's itch. In total, 317 specimens of pulmonate snails were collected and examined. The overall digenean infection was 35.33%. The highest bird schistosome prevalence was observed for Bilharziella sp. (4.63%) in Planorbarius corneus, followed by Trichobilharzia szidati (3.23%) in Lymnaea stagnalis and Trichobilharzia sp. (1.3%) in Stagnicola palustris. The location of Bilharziella sp. on the presented phylogeny showed that it is with high probability a different species than known so far B. polonica. Our finding complements the confirmed occurrence of bird schistosomes in European water bodies. Overall, presented research reveals the special importance of P. corneus as a source of the bird schistosome cercariae. This study suggests that the health threat connected with the blood flukes need to be further investigated by constant monitoring of their occurrence in intermediate hosts.

scholarly journals A mathematical model for the control of swimmer's itch

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Peirce ◽  
J. J. Pellett ◽  
G. J. Sandland
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Swimmer’S Itch ◽  
Swimmer's Itch

Interactions of 2-PPM Lead in the Water Supply with Food Deprivation upon Maze-Swimming Behavior of Mice

1982 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kowalski ◽  
G. H. Parker ◽  
M. A. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Food Deprivation ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Swimming Behavior ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Multivariate Statistical Techniques ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Food Condition ◽  
Ad Libitum

Mice that had been given either tap water or 2 ppm lead in their drinking water and either severely food deprived (3 days before testing) or allowed food ad libitum demonstrated significant interactions of lead treatment by day by food condition and lead by block. Although not statistically significant, the food deprived-lead treated mice displayed more errors and longer latencies than the ad libitum-water controls. The food deprived-water controls and ad libitum-lead-treated mice displayed intermediate values. The importance of using multivariate statistical techniques that can evaluate dynamic repeated behavioral measurements is emphasized.

scholarly journals Phylogeography of Bulinus truncatus (Audouin, 1827) (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Selected African Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eniola Abe ◽  
Yun-Hai Guo ◽  
Haimo Shen ◽  
Masceline Mutsaka-Makuvaza ◽  
Mohamed Habib ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Haplotype Diversity ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Urinary Schistosomiasis ◽  
Bulinus Truncatus ◽  
High Haplotype Diversity ◽  
Gene Coi ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase

The transmission of some schistosome parasites is dependent on the planorbid snail hosts. Bulinus truncatus is important in urinary schistosomiasis epidemiology in Africa. Hence, there is a need to define the snails’ phylogeography. This study assessed the population genetic structure of B. truncatus from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat (Sudan) and Madziwa, Shamva District (Zimbabwe) using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS 1) markers. COI was sequenced from 94 B. truncatus samples including 38 (Egypt), 36 (Sudan) and 20 (Zimbabwe). However, only 51 ITS 1 sequences were identified from Egypt (28) and Sudan (23) (because of failure in either amplification or sequencing). The unique COI haplotypes of B. truncatus sequences observed were 6, 11, and 6 for Egypt, Sudan, and Zimbabwe, respectively. Also, 3 and 2 unique ITS 1 haplotypes were observed in sequences from Egypt and Sudan respectively. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from Sudan and Zimbabwe indicated high haplotype diversity with 0.768 and 0.784, respectively, while relatively low haplotype diversity was also observed for sequences from Egypt (0.334). The location of populations from Egypt and Sudan on the B. truncatus clade agrees with the location of both countries geographically. The clustering of the Zimbabwe sequences on different locations on the clade can be attributed to individuals with different genotypes within the population. No significant variation was observed within B. truncatus populations from Egypt and Sudan as indicated by the ITS 1 tree. This study investigated the genetic diversity of B. truncatus from Giza and Sharkia (Egypt), Barakat area (Sudan), and Madziwa (Zimbabwe), which is necessary for snail host surveillance in the study areas and also provided genomic data of this important snail species from the sampled countries.

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