Sympatric and allopatric combinations of Lymnaea columella and Fasciola hepatica from southern and south-eastern Brazil

Experimental infections of Lymnaea columella with Fasciola hepatica were carried out to test the effect of sympatric and allopatric combinations between parasite and host, by using snails and flukes from southern and south-eastern Brazil. Four groups of 50 snails were infected with four miracidia per snail: two groups in sympatric and two groups in allopatric combinations. Sympatric combinations between parasite and host were more efficient than allopatric ones when snails from Itajuba were used, but the opposite was observed in infections involving snails from Pelotas. The sympatric association between L. columella and F. hepatica from Itajuba was significantly higher than in the other combinations. We concluded that the host-parasite relationship between L. columnella and F. hepatica may vary according to the geographical origin of the snails and flukes involved.