Nasal schistosomes of wildfowl in the Czech Republic.

In Central Europe, the adults of nasal bird schistosomes of the genus Trichobilharzia have only been reported from experimental infections. Our work confirmed a relatively high prevalence of these parasites in wild anatid birds in the Czech Republic. The isolated miracidia were used to infect the Radix peregra (an autochtonous snail species) which proved to be a susceptible intermediate host. Subsequently, the emerged cercariae penetrated the skin of domestic ducks and adults were found in the nasal mucosa. It can be concluded that nasal bird schistosomes occur in the Czech fauna and are able to complete their life cycle under the conditions found in Central Europe.