Life cycle of avian schistosomes such as Austrobilharzia variglandis causing cercarial dermatitis ('swimmer's itch') in humans

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Life cycle of avian schistosomes such as Austrobilharzia variglandis causing cercarial dermatitis ('swimmer's itch') in humans

Hosts of avian schistosomatid trematode flatworms can be either year-round resident or migratory birds, including seagulls, shorebirds, ducks, and geese. Adult worms are found in the blood vessels and produce eggs that are passed in the feces (1). On exposure to water, the eggs hatch and liberate a ciliated miracidium that infects a suitable snail (gastropod) intermediate host (2). The parasite develops in the intermediate host (3) to produce free-swimming cercariae that are released under appropriate conditions and penetrate the skin of the birds and migrate to the blood vessels to complete the cycle (4). Humans are inadvertent and inappropriate hosts; cercariae may penetrate the skin but do not develop further (5). A number of species of trematodes with dermatitis-producing cercariae have been described from both freshwater and saltwater environments and exposure to either type of cercaria will sensitize persons to both.

From Centers for Disease Control Parasites and Health website