Study on host-parasite relationship of freshwater snails and larval trematodes of Meerut district, Up

Snail is known to serve as an intermediate host for several species of larval trematodes some of which are highly pathogenic for their second intermediate host i.e fishes. If we want the fisheries development programmes to be successful, we need to intensive research on the fish parasites and their intermediate host. These parasites also provoke remarkable mortality to human and cause serious damages to aquaculture, which is a valuable source of food and employment in developing countries, basically deals with the studies on effect of parasite i.e. cercariae that were found in various water bodies of Meerut region infecting the host B. bengalensis and L. luteola. Recent investigations have shown that some of the molluscs are sources of important bio medical compound. The World Health Organization (WHO) is therefore, paying special attention to this dynamic host-parasite interaction of larval trematodes and snail control. Although the effects of digenetic trematodes on their vertebrate hosts have been studied, comparatively little attention has been paid towards the host-parasite relationship between the larval trematodes and their molluscan hosts.