ORIGINAL PAPER Natural prevalence in Cuban populations of the lymnaeid snail Galba cubensis infected with the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica: small values do matter Antonio A. Vázquez 1,2 & Jorge Sánchez 2 & Annia Alba 2 & Jean-Pierre Pointier 3 & Sylvie Hurtrez-Boussès 1,4 Received: 23 June 2015 /Accepted: 23 July 2015 /Published online: 8 August 2015 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract Natural infections of lymnaeid snails by Fasciola hepatica are of primary importance to study transmission. Also, infected snails in the field can be used to explore the existing compatibility in host–parasite interactions. This paper aimed to describe the infection rate of Galba cubensis popu- lations in fasciolosis transmission areas. Eight sites were sam- pled in western Cuba and 24 infected snails at six sites were found. The mean prevalence was 2.94 % and the maximum value was 11.4 %. The intensity of parasite infection was assessed as the number of rediae inside a single snail. High variation within the sites examined was observed, but a max- imum of 76 rediae was recovered from one individual. Al- though the presence of two other trematode families (Schistosomatidae and Paramphistomatidae) was discovered in dissected individuals, no co-infection with F. hepatica was observed. This is the first time a study of natural prevalence of F. hepatica infection is carried out in Cuba, considered a hyper endemic country for bovine fasciolosis. Our results suggest that fasciolosis transmission may occur even when the number of infected snails remains relatively low. Keywords Galba cubensis . Fasciola hepatica . Natural infection . Parasite transmission Introduction Natural infection of snails by trematode species is one of the most reviewed subjects by parasitologists and malacologists interested in the dynamics of infectious diseases transmitted by these intermediate hosts (Cichy et al. 2011). The study of parasite larvae infecting snails has revealed a huge diversity of helminths that can actually infect these hosts and enhanced the knowledge on diseases transmitted by molluscs (Żbikowska and Nowak 2009). The malacological surveillance of natural prevalences also gives insights into the higher and lower year- ly infection levels and the identification of particular hosts for certain parasite species (Gürelli and Göçmen 2007; Mage et al. 2002). One of the most important systems of trematodes infect- ing snails is that of the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda: Digenea) and the freshwater snail family Lym- naeidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Fasciolosis is a worldwide parasitic infection ranging from tropical to subarctic regions ( Hurtrez-Boussès et al. 2001; Mas-Coma et al. 2009) with increasing prevalence in human and domestic animal pop- ulations (WHO 2007). Transmission of this parasite is known to occur through a wide variety of lymnaeid species (Correa et al. 2010) but patterns of infection may differ according to the existing species and environmental condi- tions ( Cruz-Mendoza et al. 2004). In the case of F. hepatica transmission, a study in central France has revealed an annual stability in the field infected main intermediate host Galba truncatula (Mage et al. 2002). However, a different study regarding the lymnaeid species Omphiscola glabra in the same region reported a slight increase in prevalence in * Antonio A. Vázquez antonivp@ipk.sld.cu 1 MIVEGEC, UMR IRD 224 CNRS 5290 UM, 911 Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France 2 Laboratorio de Malacología, Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí, Apartado Postal 601, Marianao 13, La Habana, Cuba 3 USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE, Criobe Universite de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan, France 4 Département de Biologie-Ecologie, (Faculté des Sciences)- cc 046- Université Montpellier, 4 Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France Parasitol Res (2015) 114:4205–4210 DOI 10.1007/s00436-015-4653-2