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The experimental production of Fasciola hepatica metacercariae from three aquatic populations of Galba truncatula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2024

P. Vignoles
Affiliation:
UPRES-EA no. 3174, Facultés de Pharmacie et de Médecine, 2 rue du Docteur Marcland, 87025 Limoges, Cedex, France:
L. Favennec
Affiliation:
UPRES-EA no. 3234, Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, 22 boulevard Gambetta, 76183 Rouen, Cedex, France
D. Rondelaud*
Affiliation:
UPRES-EA no. 3174, Facultés de Pharmacie et de Médecine, 2 rue du Docteur Marcland, 87025 Limoges, Cedex, France:
G. Dreyfuss
Affiliation:
UPRES-EA no. 3174, Facultés de Pharmacie et de Médecine, 2 rue du Docteur Marcland, 87025 Limoges, Cedex, France:
*
*Author for correspondence Fax: 33 555 435893 E-mail: rondelaud@pharma.unilim.fr

Abstract

Laboratory investigations on three aquatic populations of Galba truncatula, originating from the Peruvian Altiplano and French Massif Central, were carried out during three successive snail generations to determine if these populations might be successfully used for the metacercarial production of Fasciola hepatica under experimental conditions. High numbers of surviving snails at day 30 post-exposure (>70%), high prevalences of F. hepatica infections (>60%), and prolonged productions of cercariae for a mean period of 35 to 47 days were observed in the three populations, whatever the snail generation. In the Peruvian population, metacercariae of F. hepatica significantly decreased in numbers from a mean of 251 in the parent snails to 124 per snail in the F2 generation, whereas no significant variation was observed in the two French populations. As these aquatic snails rarely emerged out of water, the use of these populations for the commercial production of F. hepatica metacercariae was of great interest, because the daily time spent watching the breeding boxes of snails was clearly shorter, thereby reducing the cost of producing metacercariae compared with using amphibious snails reared with romaine lettuce.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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