Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Nwoko, Onyekachi Esther
• Manyangadze, Tawanda
• Chimbari, Moses John

Titel

Spatial and seasonal distribution of human schistosomiasis intermediate host snails and their interactions with other freshwater snails in 7 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

Ist Teil von

• Scientific reports, 2023-05, Vol.13 (1), p.7845-7845, Article 7845

Ort / Verlag

England: Nature Publishing Group

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The spatial and seasonal distribution, abundance, and infection rates of human schistosomiasis intermediate host snails and interactions with other freshwater snails, water physicochemical parameters, and climatic factors was determined in this study. A longitudinal malacology survey was conducted at seventy-nine sites in seven districts in KwaZulu-Natal province between September 2020 and August 2021. Snail sampling was done simultaneously by two trained personnel for fifteen minutes, once in three months. A total of 15,756 snails were collected during the study period. Eight freshwater snails were found: Bulinus globosus (n = 1396), Biomphalaria pfeifferi (n = 1130), Lymnaea natalensis (n = 1195), Bulinus tropicus (n = 1722), Bulinus forskalii (n = 195), Tarebia granifera (n = 8078), Physa acuta (n = 1579), and Bivalves (n = 461). The infection rates of B. globosus and B. pfeifferi are 3.5% and 0.9%, respectively. In our study, rainfall, pH, type of habitats, other freshwater snails and seasons influenced the distribution, abundance, and infection rates of human schistosomiasis intermediate host snails (p-value < 0.05). Our findings provide useful information which can be adopted in designing and implementing snail control strategies as part of schistosomiasis control in the study area.