Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Tumusiime, Julius
• Kagoro-Rugunda, Grace
• Tolo, Casim Umba
• Namirembe, Daisy
• Schols, Ruben
• Hammoud, Cyril
• Albrecht, Christian
• Huyse, Tine

Titel

An accident waiting to happen? Exposing the potential of urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in the Lake Albert region, Uganda

Ist Teil von

• Parasites & vectors, 2023-11, Vol.16 (1), p.1-398, Article 398

Ort / Verlag

London: BioMed Central Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Abstract Background Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by the parasitic blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium is the most common form of that constitutes a majority of over 240 million schistosomiasis cases. The enigmatic absence of urogenital schistosomiasis in Uganda has, until now, been attributed to the absence of substantial populations of suitable snail intermediate hosts. Methods Malacological surveys were carried out in 73 sites southeast of Lake Albert, Uganda in October and November 2020. Collected snails were transported to the laboratory for identification. The snails were identified using partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit one and nuclear internal transcribed spacer barcoding. Schistosome infections in snails were also assessed using cercarial shedding and rapid diagnostic PCR techniques. Results We found  Bulinus globosus and Bulinus nasutus productus , the main intermediate species in the transmission of S. haematobium in mainland East Africa. In this survey, B. globosus was more common than B. nasutus productus , with the former reported at four sites (total count = 188) and the latter reported at one site (total count = 79). Molecular testing revealed a high prevalence of Schistosoma bovis in B . nasutus productus (16%), but no S. haematobium infections were found. Conclusions Given the abundance of snail hosts and the risky human water contact behaviours observed, we highlight the potential for urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in the region. Graphical Abstract