Angelo Teckla, Starkloff Naima Camilla, Civitello David James, Mahalila Moses Paul, Kinung'hi Safari
National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Mwanza Centre, P.O. Box 1462, Mwanza, Tanzania.
School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania.
Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2025 Jul 24;8:100299. doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100299. eCollection 2025.
The intermediate snail host of , the etiological agent of urogenital schistosomiasis, serves as a critical sentinel for tracking the spread of associated disease risks. In addition to , spp snails also transmit to cattle as well as several non-schistosome trematodes to cattle and wildlife. Identifying transmission foci of these multi-parasite hosts is critical for targeted and effective One Health intervention. We investigated 467 waterbodies in 86 villages across six districts in northwestern Tanzania. A total of 43,348 were collected across three survey phases from November 2020 to August 2021. Across all snails, 0.63% were emitting schistosome cercariae. There was a significant increase in schistosome prevalence during the year, with a peak in the dry season (June-August 2021). Furthermore, of the 25,052 snails collected in the latter two phases (March to August 2021), 4.9% were infected with non-schistosome trematodes, exceeding prevalences of schistosomes at all spatial scales. Co-infections were uncommon, with only 0.05% of snails concurrently emitting both schistosome and non-schistosome parasites. These infection patterns were consistent across village and district levels. Waterbodies used by cattle had higher schistosome prevalence than waterbodies isolated for human use. Surprisingly, non-schistosome prevalence was equal in both of these waterbody types. This suggests that cattle have an indirect role in schistosome transmission, requiring the separation of waterbody usage between cattle and humans and extending snail control in dry season to waterbodies used by cattle. By contrast, water permanence and school proximity did not impact snail or parasite presence. Targeted interventions should focus on local water use dynamics, with attention to the potential indirect role of cattle in schistosome transmission.
泌尿生殖系统血吸虫病的病原体的中间螺宿主，是追踪相关疾病风险传播的关键哨兵。除了[具体名称未提及]，[螺类名称未提及]螺还会将[具体病原体未提及]传播给牛，以及将几种非血吸虫类吸虫传播给牛和野生动物。确定这些多寄生虫宿主的传播焦点对于有针对性且有效的“同一健康”干预至关重要。我们对坦桑尼亚西北部六个区86个村庄的467个水体进行了调查。在2020年11月至2021年8月的三个调查阶段共采集了43348只[螺类名称未提及]螺。在所有螺中，0.63%的螺释放出血吸虫尾蚴。一年中血吸虫患病率显著上升，在旱季（2021年6月至8月）达到峰值。此外，在后两个阶段（2021年3月至8月）采集的25052只螺中，4.9%感染了非血吸虫类吸虫，在所有空间尺度上其患病率均超过血吸虫。共感染情况不常见，只有0.05%的螺同时释放出血吸虫和非血吸虫寄生虫。这些感染模式在村庄和区层面是一致的。供牛使用的水体的血吸虫患病率高于供人类使用的隔离水体。令人惊讶的是，这两种水体类型中的非血吸虫患病率相等。这表明牛在血吸虫传播中起间接作用，需要将牛和人类的水体使用分开，并将旱季的螺控制范围扩大到供牛使用的水体。相比之下，水体的永久性和与学校的距离并未影响螺或寄生虫的存在。有针对性的干预应关注当地的用水动态，同时注意牛在血吸虫传播中可能的间接作用。
