背景:游泳者的痒,由鸟类和哺乳动物的血吸虫引起的过敏性接触性皮炎,是一种寄生虫感染,影响着全世界的人们。特别是,毛滴虫属的禽血吸虫因其在游泳者瘙痒病例中的作用而臭名昭著。这些寄生虫作为最终宿主感染水禽,但是经常有报道称人类的尾c附带感染。在人类意外感染时,寄生虫幼虫会被免疫系统识别并被破坏,导致皮肤疼痛瘙痒。然而,一个物种,TrichobilharziaRegenti,可以逃避实验动物的这种反应并到达脊髓,引起神经炎症.在过去的几十年里,欧洲各地的病例报告有所增加,使它成为一种新兴的动物共患病。
方法:继2022年(比利时)在Kampenhout报告的游泳者瘙痒病例之后,通过疟疾和寄生虫学调查,调查了由一个私人池塘和一条相邻小溪组成的传播地点。
结果:收集了六种蜗牛,包括广泛存在的苦瓜,一种著名的毛虫寄生虫的中间宿主。脱落实验,然后进行DNA条形码显示单个蜗牛样本被T.regenti感染,比利时和比荷卢的新物种记录。此外,这是迄今为止这种嗜神经性寄生虫和宫颈皮炎之间联系最引人注目的案例。此外,棘皮科。和Notocootylussp.从另外两个白杨标本中分离出来。然而,在线存储库中缺乏这些群体的参考DNA序列,阻碍了对属和物种水平的识别,分别。
结论:比利时雷温氏弧菌的存在可能具有严重的临床意义,其发现突出了医学专业人员提高警惕和诊断意识的必要性。缺乏对其他两种寄生虫物种的物种级鉴定,这表明了吸虫的条形码空白。总的来说,这些发现表明,比利时需要一个框架来快速检测和监测“一个健康”背景下吸虫寄生虫的人畜共患暴发。
BACKGROUND: Swimmer\'s itch, an allergic contact dermatitis caused by avian and mammalian blood flukes, is a parasitic infection affecting people worldwide. In particular, avian blood flukes of the genus Trichobilharzia are infamous for their role in swimmer\'s itch cases. These parasites infect waterfowl as a final host, but incidental infections by cercariae in humans are frequently reported. Upon accidental infections of humans, parasite larvae will be recognized by the immune system and destroyed, leading to painful itchy skin lesions. However, one species, Trichobilharzia regenti, can escape this response in experimental animals and reach the spinal cord, causing neuroinflammation. In the last few decades, there has been an increase in case reports across Europe, making it an emerging zoonosis.
METHODS: Following a reported case of swimmer\'s itch in Kampenhout in 2022 (Belgium), the transmission site consisting of a private pond and an adjacent creek was investigated through a malacological and parasitological survey.
RESULTS: Six snail species were collected, including the widespread Ampullaceana balthica, a well-known intermediate host for Trichobilharzia parasites. Shedding experiments followed by DNA barcoding revealed a single snail specimen to be infected with T. regenti, a new species record for Belgium and by extension the Benelux. Moreover, it is the most compelling case to date of the link between this neurotropic parasite and cercarial dermatitis. Additionally, an Echinostomatidae sp. and Notocotylus sp. were isolated from two other specimens of A. balthica. However, the lack of reference DNA sequences for these groups in the online repositories prevented genus- and species-level identification, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: The presence of T. regenti in Belgium might have severe clinical implications and its finding highlights the need for increased vigilance and diagnostic awareness among medical professionals. The lack of species-level identification of the other two parasite species showcases the barcoding void for trematodes. Overall, these findings demonstrate the need for a Belgian framework to rapidly detect and monitor zoonotic outbreaks of trematode parasites within the One Health context.