Administrative village-based spatial distribution specificity of Oncomelania hupensis and its relationship with water systems in Hubei Province

Abstract

To investigate the spatial distribution of Oncomelania hupensis snail habitats at the administrative village scale in schistosomiasis-endemic areas of Hubei Province, so as to provide scientific bases for precise control of O. hupensis snails in the province. Data regarding snail distribution at the village level in Hubei Province in 2017 were collected to create a spatial analysis database of snail distribution in Hubei Province. The spatial aggregations of O. hupensis distribution were analyzed using Moran's I index and Local Moran's I index. In addition, the distances from schistosomiasis-endemic villages to the Yangtze River were captured using the software ArcGIS 13.0, and their correlations with area of snail habitats were examined with the Spearman correlation method. O. hupensis snails were mainly distributed in 5 450 endemic villages from 63 counties of 13 cities in Hubei Province in 2017. The global spatial autocorrelation analysis showed spatial aggregations in the areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats, areas of snail habitats outside the embankment and snail habitats inside the embankment (all Z Scores > 0, all P values < 0.05), and no spatial aggregation was seen in the areas of snail habitats in hilly areas (Z Score > 0, P > 0.05). There were four types of spatial distribution of historically accumulated areas of snail habitats, areas of current snail habitats, areas of snail habitats outside the embankment and snail habitats inside the embankment, including the high-high type (H-H type), high-low type (H-L type), low-high type (L-H type) and random distribution type, and a high percentage of the H-H type was found. There were 340, 125 and 110 endemic villages with the H-H type of areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats and areas of snail habitats outside the embankment, and these villages were mainly concentrated in Wuhan and Jingzhou cities, with almost consistent spatial aggregation locations. There were 319 endemic villages with the H-H type of distribution of snail habitats inside the embankment, which were mainly distributed in Jingzhou, Xiaogan and Huangshi cities. In addition, the areas of historically accumulated snail habitats, current areas of snail habitats and areas of snail habitats outside the embankment negatively correlated with the distance from the endemic villages to the Yangtze River (r = -0.094, P < 0.01; r = -0.225, P < 0.01; r = -0.177, P < 0.01). The clustering areas of snail habitats along the Yangtze River Basin, notably the villages near the Yangtze River are key regions for snail monitoring and control in Hubei Province.