Do all of these species of schistosomes use the same species of snails and birds as their hosts?
No, most species of schistosomes that are the causative agents for swimmer’s itch use only one species of snail and one species of bird to complete their life cycles. In other words, they are quite host-specific. This is an important concept to remember when control measures are employed. Most snail intermediate hosts for avian schistosomes belong to one of two families: Lymnaeidae and Physidae. Some members of a small snail (Planorbidae) can also serve as intermediate hosts.
