Two Achillurbainia Metacercariae from Mountain Crabs in Central Thailand

Jitra Waikagul, Sanan Yaemput
Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University
420/6 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Abstract
Examination of crabs for metacercariae of Paragonimus lung fluke was carried out in NakhonNayok province, Central Thailand, an endemic area for paragonimiasis. Two species of unencysted metacercariae were found in the liver of the mountain crab, Tiwaripotamon beusekomaeBott, 1970. The metacercariae have long and wavy caeca reaching the posterior extremity and numerous testes, significant characteristics of trematodes in the family Achillurbainiidae. One metacercaria is similar to Achillurbainia ratti, but another metacercaria is a new species. This isthe first record of achillurbainiid metacercaria in Thailand, but adult worms have already been reported from the mastoid antrum of a man residing in Chanthaburi province, Eastern Thailand.