Normally, the blood flukes infect a bird or mammal by burrowing into these animals’ skin. These tiny parasites are released from infected snails into fresh and salt water such as lakes, ponds, and ocean bays. Ultimately, while CuSO 4 was confirmed to significantly reduce populations of snails within the treatment area, it was found to have no significant impact on swimmer's itch-causing parasites in the water, likely due to the free-swimming larval stages (cercariae) moving into the treatment area from surrounding regions.Ĭhemical treatment Copper sulfate Digenetic trematode Schistosome Swimmer’s itch Water qPCR. Swimmers Itch (Cercarial or Schistosomal Dermatitis) Swimmer’s itch is an allergic reaction to a small parasite called a blood fluke. We measured the effect on snail populations, as well as on the presence/abundance of swimmer's itch-causing parasites using qPCR. In this study, we evaluated the impact of targeted CuSO 4 application to a specific recreational swimming area in a lake in Michigan. Previous research has found that the larval stage of the parasites responsible for swimmer's itch are released from infected snails and are concentrated by onshore and alongshore winds, and thus, may not be affected by such focused applications. It is unclear whether targeted application of chemical molluscicides like CuSO 4 is effective for controlling swimmer's itch. CuSO 4 is still sometimes applied specifically to areas of lakes where swimmer's itch severity is high. Swimmer's itch has historically been controlled by applying copper sulfate (CuSO 4) to lakes as a way to eliminate snails that serve as the intermediate hosts for swimmer's itch-causing parasites.
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