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Intestinal schistosomiasis is hyperendemic in many sub-Saharan African countries. In Uganda, it is endemic at both Lake Albert (LA) and Lake Victoria (LV) and caused by S. mansoni that uses Biomphalaria snails as obligatory intermediate snail hosts. To shed light on local patterns of infection, we utilised two PCR-based methods to detect S. mansoni within Biomphalaria spp. as collected at the Ugandan shorelines of Lake Albert and Lake Victoria from 2009–2010. Overall, at our Lake Albert sites, the mean infection prevalence was 12.5% (15 of 120 snails), while at our Lake Victoria sites the prevalence was 5% (3 of 60 snails). At our Lake Albert sites, the highest infection prevalence of 13.3% (8 of 60 snails) was at Walukuba, while at our Lake Victoria sites, the highest infection prevalence of 10% (2 of 20 snails) was at Lwanika. Three species of Biomphalaria, B. pfeifferi, B. stanleyi and B. sudanica, were identified at our Lake Albert collection sites, while only a single species, B. choanomphala, was identified at our Lake Victoria collection sites. Biomphalaria stanleyi (2 of 20 snails; 15%) had the highest infection prevalence, followed by B. sudanica (5 of 60 snails; 13.3%), B. pfeifferi (4 of 40 snails; 10%) and B. choanomphala (3 of 60 snails; 5%). Of the Biomphalaria species identified, B. choanomphala had the highest haplotype (gene) diversity score, followed by B. stanleyi, B. sudanica and B. pfeifferi. Sites with a higher mean prevalence of S. mansoni infection had higher intra-species haplotype diversity scores than sites with a lower mean prevalence. The wet seasons (LA: 13.3%; LV: 8.7%) had a consistently higher mean infection prevalence of S. mansoni than the dry seasons (LA: 9.5%; LV: 5%) for all species and all sites tested at both Lake Albert (n = 480) and Lake Victoria (n = 320), though the difference was not statistically significant. Author summary: Human schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the intravascular trematode genus Schistosoma. The disease is contracted through contact with contaminated freshwater sources infested with snails, which serve as the intermediate host for the parasite's larval form. Schistosoma mansoni causes the intestinal form of the disease and utilises Biomphalaria as its intermediate snail host. To better understand the prevalence of S. mansoni infection, molecular detection methods can be used to monitor the levels and patterns of infection within Biomphalaria populations. In this study, the authors examined the prevalence of S. mansoni infection within Biomphalaria snails collected from six sites along the Ugandan shorelines of Lake Albert and Lake Victoria from 2009 to 2010. The study revealed that infection was more prevalent at Lake Albert compared to Lake Victoria. Different species of Biomphalaria snails were found at each lake, with some species having a higher infection prevalence than others. The study also investigated the impact of seasonality on infection prevalence, with the wet seasons having an overall higher prevalence of infection compared to the dry seasons, although the difference was not statistically significant. This research enhances our understanding of S. mansoni infection patterns among African Biomphalaria snails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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