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

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 sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasites & vectors 2023-11, Vol.16 (1), p.1-398, Article 398
Main Authors: Tumusiime, Julius, Kagoro-Rugunda, Grace, Tolo, Casim Umba, Namirembe, Daisy, Schols, Ruben, Hammoud, Cyril, Albrecht, Christian, Huyse, Tine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Bar codes
Brief Report
Bulinus globosus
Bulinus nasutus productus
Cytochrome c
Cytochrome oxidase
Cytochrome-c oxidase
Cytochromes
Disease transmission
Emerging disease
Ethanol
Gastropoda
Health aspects
Hosts
Infections
Lake Albert
Lakes
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Mitochondrial DNA
Mollusks
Nucleotide sequence
Risk factors
Schistosoma haematobium
Schistosomiasis
Snails
Surveys
Tropical diseases
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Summary: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. 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. 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. 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.
ISSN:1756-3305
1756-3305
DOI:10.1186/s13071-023-06017-3