Abstract
Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease of medical and veterinary importance, transmitted through specific freshwater snail intermediate hosts, is targeted for elimination in several endemic regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Multi-disciplinary methods are required for both human and environmental diagnostics to certify schistosomiasis elimination when eventually reached. Molecular xenomonitoring protocols, a DNA-based detection method for screening disease vectors, have been developed and trialed for parasites transmitted by hematophagous insects, such as filarial worms and trypanosomes, yet few have been extensively trialed or proven reliable for the intermediate host snails transmitting schistosomes. Here, previously published universal and Schistosoma-specific internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA primers were adapted into a triplex PCR primer assay that allowed for simple, robust, and rapid detection of Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis in Bulinus snails. We showed this two-step protocol could sensitively detect DNA of a single larval schistosome from experimentally infected snails and demonstrate its functionality for detecting S. haematobium infections in wild-caught snails from Zanzibar. Such surveillance tools are a necessity for succeeding in and certifying the 2030 control and elimination goals set by the World Health Organization.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis is a disease affecting an estimated 229 million people worldwide caused by infection with parasitic worms of the genus Schistosoma, leading to severe morbidity and mortality due to the associated complications of worm presence [1]
Molecular xenomonitoring better helps to assess the impact of schistosomiasis control interventions in local communities, where local elimination is being achieved, and certification of the absence of transmission is required at specific foci
The diversity of schistosomes circulating in co-endemic areas means that species-specific methods are needed to prevent false-positive data due to non-target species cross-reactivity
Summary
Schistosomiasis is a disease affecting an estimated 229 million people worldwide caused by infection with parasitic worms of the genus Schistosoma, leading to severe morbidity and mortality due to the associated complications of worm presence [1]. Schistosoma spp. in Africa are transmitted through specific freshwater snail intermediate hosts of the Bulinus and Biomphalaria genera [2]. Ovine, and caprine schistosomiasis is of significant veterinary and economic importance across sub-Saharan Africa [4,5] and is caused by infection of cattle, sheep, and goats with species closely related to S. haematobium (termed S. haematobium group species), primarily Schistosoma bovis, Schistosoma curassoni, and Schistosoma mattheei. Overlapping geographical distribution of multiple schistosome and intermediate snail host species strains complicates disease transmission surveillance in (co)endemic zones [2,6,7]
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