Morphological and molecular identification of lymnaeid snail and trematodes cercariae in different water bodies in Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

Lymnaeid snails are vital in transmitting trematode cercariae as an intermediate host that can infect buffalo and other ruminants and humans, causing signi cant economic losses. The study aimed to conduct morphological and molecular identi cation of snails and cercariae collected from the selected buffalo farms under palm oil integration in Perak, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and 35 water were investigated for the presence or absence of snails. A total of 836 lymnaeid snails were collected from three marshes wetlands. To identify the snail family and species, morphological identi cation was performed on each snail's shell, and to identify trematode cercariae types; the crushing method was used to observe the cercarial stage inside each snail's body. In addition, the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region and Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) was used as the target gene to identify the snail species and cercarial types up to the species level. The result showed that the collected snails belong to the family Lymnaeidae and Radix rubiginosa species. The infection rate by cercarial emergence in snails was 8.73%. Five morphological cercarial types were observed which include: echinostome, xiphidiocercariae, gymnocephalous, brevifurcate-apharyngeate distome, and vivax. Using molecular methods, the identi ed cercariae belong to the three families, including Echinostomatidae, Plagiorchiidae, and Fasciolidae. This is the rst report on R. rubiginosa and different types of trematodes cercariae in buffalo farms under palm oil integration in Perak. Our nding con rmed that R. rubiginosa could serve as an intermediate host for a range of parasitic trematodes in Perak.

Identification of freshwater snail species and survey of their trematode infections in Ordos, China

“…These trematodes mainly harm the development of local cattle and sheep industry, and freshwater snails play an important role in the life history of these trematodes. Therefore, elimination of the intermediate hosts is one of the most important means of preventing trematode infection in local cattle and sheep ( Bawm et al, 2022 ; King et al, 2015 ; Tookhy et al, 2023 ). Currently, chemical snail elimination, i.e., drug snail elimination, is mostly used internationally, e.g., clonidine is the only commercially available snail elimination drug recommended by the World Health Organisation ( Konan et al, 2022 ).…”

Amphistome Infection and Species Diversity of Freshwater Snails Collected from Selected Wildlife Drinking Water Sources in Matebeleland Region of Zimbabwe

“…According to Carolus et al [31], knowledge on the prevalence, diversity, and ecology of both intermediate host freshwater snails and trematodes is key to understanding disease transmission dynamics and the possible control of trematodes of economic significance. Although there are several ways of identifying freshwater snails and trematode larval stages based on morphological characters, molecular methods are known to provide better resolution for identifying snails and trematodes at the species level [32]. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the identity of freshwater snails collected from selected water habitats serving as water sources for wildlife in selected game ranches, conservancies, and game parks located in the Matebeleland region of Zimbabwe and the amphistome species they may transmit in these habitats.…”