Philoptholmasis: a potential public health hazard in Kuwait

During a survey on the intramolluscan larval digenean fauna in Kuwait Bay, the intertidal prosobranch snail, Clypeomorus bifasciata [Sowerby, 1855], was found to shed characteristic philophthalmid cercariae. Peak shedding appears to occur during the spring and summer. The cercariae were used for experimental infections of chicks and ducklings that ultimately yielded adult eye flukes resembling those of Philophthalmus hegeneri [Penner and Fried, 1963]. This is the first confirmed report of a potential snail-born zoonotic infection in the Kuwait Bay. The public health importance of these findings is discussed