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Investigation of an outbreak of cercarial dermatitis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2002

B. LÉVESQUE ,
P. GIOVENAZZO ,
P. GUERRIER ,
D. LAVERDIÈRE  and
H. PRUD'HOMME
B. LÉVESQUE
Affiliation:
Direction régionale de santé publique de Québec Unité de recherche en santé publique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, 2400 d'Estimauville, Beauport, Québec, Canada G1E 7G9
P. GIOVENAZZO
Affiliation:
Département de biologie, Université Laval
P. GUERRIER
Affiliation:
Direction régionale de santé publique de Québec
D. LAVERDIÈRE
Affiliation:
Unité de recherche en santé publique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, 2400 d'Estimauville, Beauport, Québec, Canada G1E 7G9
H. PRUD'HOMME
Affiliation:
Direction régionale de santé publique de Québec
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Abstract

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We present the investigation of an outbreak of cercarial dermatitis that occurred in a recreational-tourist lake in the Québec City region (Canada) in the summer of 1999. A case-reporting form was sent to 450 families likely to have activities that would bring them in contact with the lake's water. The snails were characterized and the prevalence of their infestation by schistosomes was investigated. In total, 63 episodes consistent with cercarial dermatitis were reported. Sixty-nine percent of the cases occurred from swimming at the same beach. This location was the one where the only population of snails in the lake was identified. Shoreline residents were informed that they should not feed waterfowl, and a clean-up of the snail population was done at the start of the following summer. There were no cases of cercarial dermatitis at this site the following summer.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 129 , Issue 2 , October 2002 , pp. 379 - 386
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press