Article
Current Knowledge of Small Flukes (Digenea: Heterophyidae) from South America
Registro en:
SANTOS, Cláudia Portes; BORGES, Juliana Novo. Current Knowledge of Small Flukes (Digenea: Heterophyidae) from South America. Korean Journal of Parasitology, v. 58, n. 4, p. 373-386, Aug. 2020.
0023-4001
10.3347/kjp.2020.58.4.373
1738-0006
Autor
Santos, Cláudia Portes
Borges, Juliana Novo
Resumen
Fish-borne heterophyid trematodes are known to have a zoonotic potential, since at least 30 species are able to infect humans worldwide, with a global infection of around 7 million people. In this paper, a ‘state-of-the-art’ review of the South American heterophyid species is provided, including classical and molecular taxonomy, parasite ecology, host-parasite interaction studies and a list of species and their hosts. There is still a lack of information on human infections in South America with undetected or unreported infections probably due to the information shortage and little attention by physicians to these small intestinal flukes. Molecular tools for specific diagnoses of South American heterophyid species are still to be defined. Additional new sequences of Pygidiopsis macrostomum, Ascocotyle pindoramensis and Ascocotyle longa from Brazil are also provided.