Epidemiological survey on parasites of squamates in Eastern China based on molecular detection

Parasites, such as flatworms, nematodes, and pentastomes, are commonly found inhabiting reptiles. In this study, we examined parasite infection status in 10 squamate species, including 5 snake species and 5 lizard species. We identified one genus-level and nine species-level parasites in these hosts, which belong to the phyla Platyhelminthes, Nemathelminthes, and Arthropoda. The overall infection rate was 45%, with significant differences in infection rates between lizard and snake species. Parasites in snakes included the Kalicephalus sp., Ophidascaris filaria, Ophiotaenia bungari, Raillietiella orientalis and Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, and parasitic parasites in lizards were mainly composed of Meteterakis japonica, Plagiorchis koreanus, Spauligodon carbonelli, Spauligodon saxicolae and Strongyluris calotis, respectively. There were significant differences in infection rates among different species and regions, and even among different tissues of the same species. The overall investigation of squamate parasites in China will provide some basic information for public health safety.