Objective: To survey the Cercaria of Trematode species within the freshwater snails in northern of Palestine. 

Methods: A total of 1117 Melanopsis buccinoidea snails were collected from different freshwater streams in Palestine from September 2017 to December 2019. Cercariae in Melanopsis buccinoidea snails were obtained by crushing methods. In addition, the structure and behavior of cercariae and redia were studied and observed using light and dissecting microscopy.

Results: Five different species (9 subspecies) of Cercaria and redia of trematodes were identified from Melanopsis buccinoidea snails collected from 4 freshwater sites. Five species (7 subspecies) were collected from Al-Bathan, 2 subspecies were from Qana Valley, one from Ein-Sakout and none from Ein Al-Sultan. These species were Parapleurolophocercous spp, Furcocercous spp, Xiphidiocercaria spp, Lissorchiidae spp and Coitocaecum spp. The infection rate of Melanopsis buccinoidea was 11.37% (58/510) at Al-Bathan freshwater, 37.61% (85/226) at Qana, and 5.26% (7/133) at Ein-Sakout. Infection varied between locations in the stream and seasons, where the heavy infection was in the lower part of the stream and in Springtime

Conclusions: Cercarial trematodes that have been found may cause infection for some mammals, birds, fish and amphibians but not human. These results encourage us to continue searching for the complete life cycle of these cercariae, which may be a critical record for human and animal infection.

Conference Title

Second Global Conference on Biodiversity and Human Diversity

Conference Country

Palestine

Conference Date

Oct. 19, 2022 - Oct. 24, 2022

Conference Sponsor

Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability