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    Question ID:   18033         Current Version: 1
Question: How does water become infested with the parasite that causes swimmer's itch?
Category: Diseases & Conditions > Skin
Keywords: swimmer's itch, parasite, water, infest, cause, Cercarial dermatitis
Type: how
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 142    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:
The adult parasite lives in the blood of infected animals such as ducks, geese, gulls, swans, and certain aquatic mammals such as muskrats and beavers. The parasites produce eggs that are passed in the feces of infected birds or mammals.

If the eggs land in or are washed into the water, the eggs hatch, releasing small, free-swimming larvae. These larvae swim in the water in search of a certain species of aquatic snail.

If the larvae find one of these snails, they infect the snail, multiply and undergo further development. Infected snails release a different type of larvae (or cercariae, hence the name cercarial dermatitis) into the water. This larval form then swims about searching for a suitable host (bird, muskrat) to continue the lifecycle. Although humans are not suitable hosts, the larvae burrow into the swimmer's skin, and may cause an allergic reaction and rash (swimmer's itch). Because these larvae cannot develop inside a human, they soon die.

Source: CDC
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