Trematode metacercariae and adults in cyprinoid fish from Khun Thale Swamp in Surat Thani province, Thailand

Abstract

The present study aimed to determine the infection status of trematode metacercariae and adults in cyprinoid fish from the Khun Thale Swamp in Surat Thani, Southern Thailand, with epidemiologic and faunistic viewpoints. In 2020, 577 fish in 15 species were collected in the summer (February–April) and rainy (September–November) seasons. Fish were individually examined for trematode metacercariae in the whole body and adults in the gastrointestinal tract using a stereomicroscope. Three species of digenetic trematode metacercariae, i.e., Haplorchis taichui, Haplorchoides mehrai, and Centrocestus formosanus, were detected in the muscle, fin, and/or scale of fish. Two species of adult flukes, including Rohdella siamensis and Helostomatis cyprinorum, were collected in the intestines. The prevalence of overall trematode infections was 32.4% (187/577 fish), which was higher in the rainy season (41.4%; 118/285) than in the summer season (23.6%; 69/292). The metacercariae of H. taichui and H. mehrai were detected in 7 fish species each, and those of C. formosanus were found only in Rasbora toneri. The aspidogastrean trematode R. siamensis (adult) was detected in Babonymus gonionotus. A digenean species, H. cyprinorum (adult), was found in Labiobarbus siamensis and Osteochilus vittatus. The present study has first confirmed that the metacercariae of heterophyid flukes, including H. taichui, H. mehrai, and C. formosanus, and adults of R. siamensis (Aspidogastrea) and H. cyprinorum (Digenea) are infected in some species of the cyprinoid fish from the Khun Thale Swamp in Surat Thani, Thailand.