First case report of Metorchis orientalis from Black Swan

Metorchis orientalis belongs to the genus Metorchis of Opisthorchiidae, which mainly parasitizes in liver and bile ducts of waterfowl, causing liver dysfunction of the host. It has been reported that M. orientalis also infects humans. As a natural species in Australia and a popular ornamental animal, Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) has been imported into many countries. At present there has been no report of M. orientalis infection in Black Swan. In the present study M. orientalis infection in Black Swan was identified by a combination of different techniques, including morphological observation and molecular analysis. M. orientalis adults were found in the gallbladder and bile duct of a three-year-old female Black Swan, which was further confirmed by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. In addition, the intermediate and definitive hosts of M. orientalis from the 'Qing' lake (a man-made lake in Changchun, China) that Black Swan lived were investigated and the infection route was preliminarily determined. Parafossarulus striatulus functioned as the first intermediate host which contained M. orientalis DNA, and fishes such as Pseudorasbora parva and Rhodeinae served as the second intermediate hosts with M. orientalis metacercariae in the fish flesh. M. orientalis eggs were found in the feces of three other Swans and six ducks that lived in the 'Qing' lake. This was the first reported case about M. orientalis infection of Black Swan. Our study described the course of the infection and provided new information about potential carriers and disseminators of M. orientalis.