Cercarial dermatitis and lake eutrophication in south-central Chile

Cercarial dermatitis is caused by exposure to the cercariae of schistosome species which have birds or mammals as their definitive hosts. A public alarm was raised in the summer of 2004 when this parasitic disease was observed for the first time in south-central Chile at Laguna Chica de San Pedro (36 degrees 51 '' S, 73 degrees 05 '' W). Swimmers at this eutrophic lake were surveyed in order to estimate the amount of cercarial dermatitis in the area; participants were observed during the summers of 2004 and 2005 for clinical signs of cercarial dermatitis and 25 Chilina dombeyana snails were collected monthly from Laguna Chica de San Pedro during one year and then examined for animal schistosome cercariae. We found that 3% of the swimmers had pruritic maculopapular rashes on their legs, arms, necks, or other body parts and that between 9.1% (May 2006) and 52.4% (November 2004) of the snails examined were infected with the bird schistosome cercariae Trichobilharzia sp.