In Hokkaido, Japan, wild sika deer are highly infected with Fasciola flukes, suggesting that the flukes complete their life cycle via intermediate host snails and definitive host animals occurring in the natural environment. However, infected snails have been found only in cattle farms contaminated with fasciolosis. This study reports the first Fasciola larva infection in Galba truncatula snails occurring in the Shoro and Atsuma rivers in the natural environment. Molecular analysis revealed that the nad1 haplotype of the larvae was consistent with that of Fasciola adults obtained from sika deer in Hokkaido. These results indicated that Fasciola flukes complete their life cycle via G. truncatula and sika deer occurring in the natural environment.
Keywords: Fasciola fluke; Galba truncatula; Hokkaido; larval infection; nad1.