Investigation of a topical ointment to prevent against the penetration of Trichobilharzia ocellata cercariae causing schistosome cercarial dermatitis

Abstract

Schistosome cercarial dermatitis, also known as “Swimmer’s Itch,” is a serious problem in many freshwater lakes. The reaction was first discovered by William Walter Cort on Douglas Lake in 1928 (Cort, 1950). The cause of the disease is the result of an avian schistosome, usually in the Trichobilharzia genus, using a human as an incidental host. An incidental host occurs when a parasite that has evolved to parasitize one particular species, mistakes another species for its host. Often the mistake proves fatal for the parasite, which cannot survive in the body of t he wrong host.