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. 2021 Dec 22;7(1):1.
doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed7010001.

Pilot Malacology Surveys for the Intermediate Hosts of Schistosomiasis in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas of the Moyen-Ogooué Province, Gabon

Jean Claude Dejon Agobé  1   2 , Henry Curtis Kariuki  3 , Jeannot Fréjus Zinsou  1   4 , Yabo Josiane Honkpehedji  1   4 , Martin Peter Grobusch  1   2   5 , Ayola Akim Adegnika  1   4   5   6   7
Affiliations

Pilot Malacology Surveys for the Intermediate Hosts of Schistosomiasis in Rural and Semi-Urban Areas of the Moyen-Ogooué Province, Gabon

Jean Claude Dejon Agobé et al. Trop Med Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The objective of this pilot malacological survey was to identify the snail intermediate hosts for Schistosoma haematobium in endemic rural and semi-urban areas of Gabon. Snails were collected, morphologically identified, and tested for infection by cercarial shedding. Released cercariae were morphologically identified using low-power light microscopy. A total of six species of snails were collected throughout the study area, with Bulinus truncatus, B. forskalii, and Potadoma spp. being the most predominant species collected. Only the Bulinus species were tested for infection by cercarial shedding, of which only B. truncatus shed cercariae. Some B. truncatus shed mammalian schistosome cercariae, while others shed Gymnocephalus cercariae. Our results indicate that B. truncatus appears to be a potential intermediate host of schistosomiasis in Gabon, where cases of S. haematobium, S. guineensis, and S. intercalatum infection are reported. However, it will be important to further understand the species diversity and transmission dynamics of schistosomes.

Keywords: Bulinus spp.; Gabon; Schistosoma haematobium; cercarial shedding; schistosomiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of the human-freshwater contact points selected for snail collection over the study area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Some Bulinus truncatus snails collected at Tsouka village; (b) Microscopic view of shedding of some mammalian (forked tail) and Gymnocephalus (single tail) cercariae.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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