Elzain Ishraga Adam, Idris Abeer Babiker, Karim Abdul Aziz, Ahmed Nagla Mohamed, Elzaki Salaheldein G, Yılmaz Semih, Hassan Mohamed A, Abdalla Hamid Suliman
Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Faculty of Medical Laboratories Sciences, Omdurman Ahlia University, Omdurman Khartoum, Sudan.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 15;15(1):2062. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-85986-0.
Schistosomiasis poses a significant global health threat, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions like Sudan. Although numerous epidemiological studies have examined schistosomiasis in Sudan, the genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium populations, specifically through analysis of the mtcox1 gene, remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors associated with urogenital schistosomiasis among school pupils in El-Fasher, Western Sudan, as well as the mtcox1 genetic diversity of human S. haematobium in this region. A cross-sectional study was conducted among school pupils aged 4 to 19 years. In total, 196 urine samples and 196 fecal samples were collected from participants across schools, health centers, and refugee camps in El-Fasher. Samples were examined using simple centrifugation/sedimentation technique and formol-ether concentration method to detect S. haematobium and S. mansoni eggs, respectively. S. haematobium mtcox1 partial gene was amplified and sequenced by the Sanger technique. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was generated by MEGA software, and a haplotype network was constructed using PopART v.1.7 with the median-joining network method. In this study, S. haematobium was detected in 6.1% (12/196) of the participants while no S. mansoni ova were observed in fecal samples. The infection was more common among those who relied on indirect water supply like tankers (6, 50%). No infection was observed among residents of refugee camps. Only eight samples were PCR-positive, which were successfully sequenced, and included in the genetic diversity analysis. A unique haplotype (Hap_1) with no sequence diversity was found among cox1 sequences from El-Fasher strains. Both El-Fasher S. haematobium haplotype (Hap_1) and Gezira haplotype (Hap_31) fall within the mainland Africa group (group 1). In conclusion, this study identified a novel S. haematobium strain and provides insights into the evolutionary history and phylogeography of S. haematobium in Sudan, particularly in the western region. This genetic data could help in the control and monitoring of urogenital schistosomiasis in this region. For the first time, we utilized the DNA mtcox1 barcoding to investigate S. haematobium haplotypes in Western Sudan.
血吸虫病对全球健康构成重大威胁，尤其是在苏丹等热带和亚热带地区。尽管已有大量流行病学研究对苏丹的血吸虫病进行了调查，但埃及血吸虫种群的遗传多样性，特别是通过对细胞色素c氧化酶亚基1（mtcox1）基因的分析，仍未得到探索。本研究旨在调查苏丹西部法希尔市学童泌尿生殖系统血吸虫病的相关危险因素，以及该地区人类埃及血吸虫的mtcox1基因多样性。对4至19岁的学童进行了一项横断面研究。总共从法希尔市的学校、健康中心和难民营的参与者中收集了196份尿液样本和196份粪便样本。分别采用简单离心/沉淀技术和甲醛-乙醚浓缩法对样本进行检查，以检测埃及血吸虫和曼氏血吸虫卵。采用桑格技术对埃及血吸虫mtcox1部分基因进行扩增和测序。使用MEGA软件生成邻接法系统发育树，并使用PopART v.1.7软件采用中位数连接网络法构建单倍型网络。在本研究中，6.1%（12/196）的参与者检测到埃及血吸虫，而粪便样本中未观察到曼氏血吸虫卵。在依赖水车等间接供水的人群中感染更为常见（6人，占50%）。难民营居民中未观察到感染情况。只有8个样本PCR呈阳性，成功测序后纳入遗传多样性分析。在法希尔菌株的cox1序列中发现了一个无序列多样性的独特单倍型（Hap_1）。法希尔埃及血吸虫单倍型（Hap_1）和杰济拉单倍型（Hap_31）均属于非洲大陆组（第1组）。总之，本研究鉴定出一种新型埃及血吸虫菌株，并为苏丹，特别是西部地区埃及血吸虫的进化历史和系统地理学提供了见解。这些遗传数据有助于该地区泌尿生殖系统血吸虫病的控制和监测。我们首次利用DNA mtcox1条形码技术研究苏丹西部的埃及血吸虫单倍型。
