Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1464988

Prevalence and Species Identification of Trematode Metacercariae in Qiqihar, Northeast China

Provisionally accepted
Emily Zhang Emily Zhang 1,2Jianke Li Jianke Li 2Shaocheng Zhang Shaocheng Zhang 3,4Ting Chen Ting Chen 5Hao Zhang Hao Zhang 2*
  • 1 Suining Central Hospital, Suining, China
  • 2 Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, China
  • 3 Second Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 5 Hospital of Chengdu Office of People’s Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Fish-borne trematode (FBT) is an important group of parasites that are endemic worldwide to a certain extent. However, despite the epidemiological significance, the species and phylogenetic evolution characteristics of FBT metacercariae have not been well studied. In this study, a total of 600 Pseudorasbora parva (P. parva) specimens were collected from Qiqihar, 61.8% (371/600) were found to be infected with trematode metacercariae. A total of three kinds of trematodes metacercariae were obtained, they were identified as Clonorchis sinensis (C. sinensis), Metorchis orientalis (M. orientalis) and Metorchis taiwanensis (M. taiwanensis) by morphlogical and phylogenetic analysis with infection rates of 47.7% (286/600), 15.5% (93/600) and 23.7% (142/600), respectively. Meanwhile, survey of the three trematodes metacercariae showed that the infection rate of C. sinensis metacercariae was the highest in September, up to 66% (66/100), and the lowest in June at 26% (26/100); The infection rate of M. orientalis metacercariae was the highest in October at 26% (26/100), and the lowest in June at 5% (5/100); the infection rate of M. taiwanensis metacercariae was at its peak in November at 36% (36/100) and the lowest in July at 15% (15/100). The co-infection of metacercariae of C. sinensis and M. taiwanensis was the most common and reached a peak in October and their infection rate was higher in autumn than in summer. The peak of infection intensity of metacercariae for C. sinensis, M. orientalis and M. taiwanensis were different: C. sinensis was 24/g in September, M. orientalis was 7/g in October and M. taiwanensi was 10/g in November. From the above results, it was confirmed that 3 species of trematodes metacercaria played an important role in second intermediate hosts infection in Qiqihar region. Studying the morphological characteristics and sequencing the ITS2 gene for a phylogenetic tree of them will be useful for future molecular evolution, biology and ecology of trematode metacercariae.

    Keywords: Trematode metacercariae, Phylogenetic evolution, Prevalence, Clonorchis sinensis, Metorchis orientalis, Metorchis taiwanensis

    Received: 15 Jul 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Li, Zhang, Chen and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hao Zhang, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, 161006, Heilongjiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.