Simplifying Schistosome Surveillance: Using Molecular Cercariometry to Detect and Quantify Cercariae in Water

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2022

Publication Source

Pathogens

Volume Number

11

Issue Number

5

E-ISSN

20760817

Article Number

565

Abstract

Avian schistosomes are considered a public health nuisance due to their ability to cause swimmer’s itch when accidentally encountering humans rather than their intended avian hosts. Researchers have been monitoring their presence and abundance through snail collections and cercariometry. Cercariometry methods have evolved over the last several decades to detect individual schistosome species from a single water sample, simplifying the monitoring of these parasites. This methodological evolution coincides with the development of the field of environmental DNA (eDNA) where genetic material is extracted from environmental samples, rather than individual organisms. While there are some limitations with using molecular cercariometry, notably the cost and its inability to differentiate between life cycle stages, it substantially reduces the labor required to study trematode populations. It also can be used in complement with snail collections to understand the composition of avian schistosomes in an environment.

Keywords

avian schistosome, cercariae, cercariometry, digenean trematode, qPCR

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS