Occurrence and host associations of Dollfustrema bagarii (Digenea: Bucephalidae) in channel catfish cage culture in Northern Vietnam

Le H., Vu M.D., Hoai T.D., Van V.K., Kim M.A., Van H.N., Hien H.V., Chinh N.N., Tran A.T., Simonova N., Atopkin D., Greiman S.E., Madsen H., Nguyen H.M.

В журнале Parasitology Research

Год: 2025 Том: 124 ArticleID: 133

A survey was conducted across 11 provinces in Northern Vietnam to investigate the distribution of Dollfustrema bagarii metacercariae – a causative agent of significant losses in cultured channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) – and to identify its first intermediate host. A total of 337 fish specimens were collected from 103 farms. Metacercariae of D. bagarii were detected in 72 farms (69.9% of farms), and 44.51% of the sampled fish were positive. The prevalence in lowland provinces was 3.14 times higher than that in mountainous regions (p < 0.001), while no significant difference was observed between fish cultured in reservoir/lake and those in river (p = 0.634). We identified the golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) as the first intermediate host of D. bagarii. The morphological characteristics of its daughter sporocyst and cercariae were described, and the identification was confirmed through comparison of 28 S rDNA sequences with those of D. bagarii.

DOI 10.1007/s00436-025-08596-9