NATURAL INFECTION IN LYMNAEA COLUMELLA SAY, 1817 BY FASCIOLA HEPATICA LINNEUS, 1758, IN VALE DO RIBEIRA, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT

Samples of snails were collected in the counties of Miracatu and Eldorado, in Vale do Ribeira, in the State of São Paulo. Infection rates of 5.26% and 1.06%, respectivelly, were obtained in L. columella snails naturally infected by F. hepatica. Infected white mouse eliminated eggs of F. hepatica, in his faeces, 40 days after infection of the animals.

KEY WORDS:
Trematoda; Digenea; Fasciola hepatica; snails; Lymnaea columella; natural infection; mice; experimental infection