PARAGONIMIASIS IN SOUTHWEST CAMEROON - ISOLATION OF MICROCERCOUS CERCARIAE FROM LAND SNAILS CAUGHT IN A PARAGONIMUS-AFRICANUS ENDEMIC ZONE

More than 25 years after the discovery of the 2 main African Paragonim us species, P. africanus and P. uterobilateralis, the snails' first in termediate hosts, which harbour rediae and cercariae as well as these larval stages, remain yet unknown. In the present study, the authors d escribe microcercous cercariae and rediae with the characteristics of the genus Paragonimus from land snails of the Achatinidae family caugh t in a forest zone of Cameroon where P. africanus is endemic. The resu lts corroborate Sachs and Cumberlidge's findings in a P. uterobilatera lis focus in Liberia and indicate that for both African Paragonimus sp ecies, the first intermediate host should probably be land snails rath er than fresh water snails.