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Blankespoor CL, Blankespoor HD, DeJong RJ. Swimmer's itch control: Timely waterfowl brood relocation significantly reduces an avian schistosome population and human cases on recreational lakes. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0288948. [PMID: 38359003 PMCID: PMC10868848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Swimmer's itch (SI) is a dermatitis in humans caused by cercariae of avian and mammalian schistosomes which emerge from infected snails on a daily basis. Mitigation methods for SI have long been sought with little success. Copper sulfate application to the water to kill the snail hosts is the historically employed method, but is localized, temporary, and harmful to many aquatic species. Here, we test an alternative method to control Trichobilharzia stagnicolae, a species well-known to cause SI in northern Michigan and elsewhere in North America. Summer relocation of broods of the only known vertebrate host, common merganser (Mergus merganser), greatly reduced snail infection prevalence the following year on two large, geographically separated lakes in northern Michigan. Subsequent years of host relocation achieved and maintained snail infection prevalence at ~0.05%, more than an order of magnitude lower than pre-intervention. A Before-After-Control-Intervention (BACI) study design using multiple-year snail infection data from two intervention lakes and three control lakes demonstrates that dramatic lake-wide reduction of an avian schistosome can be achieved and is not due to natural fluctuations in the parasite populations. The relevance of reducing snail infection prevalence is demonstrated by a large seven-year data set of SI incidence in swimmers at a high-use beach, which showed a substantial reduction in SI cases in two successive years after relocation began. In addition, data from another Michigan lake where vertebrate-host based intervention occurred in the 1980's are analyzed statistically and show a remarkably similar pattern of reduction in snail infection prevalence. Together, these results demonstrate a highly effective SI mitigation strategy that avoids the use of environmentally suspect chemicals and removes incentive for lethal host removal. Biologically, the results strongly suggest that T. stagnicolae is reliant on the yearly hatch of ducklings to maintain populations at high levels on a lake and that the role of migratory hosts in the spring and fall is much less significant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis L. Blankespoor
- Science Department, Jackson College, Jackson, Michigan, United States of America
- University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, Michigan, United States of America
- Swimmer’s Itch Solutions, LLC, Adrian, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Harvey D. Blankespoor
- University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, Michigan, United States of America
- Swimmer’s Itch Solutions, LLC, Adrian, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Hope College, Holland, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Randall J. DeJong
- University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, Michigan, United States of America
- Swimmer’s Itch Solutions, LLC, Adrian, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States of America
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Saidu U, Ibrahim MA, de Koning HP, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR, Balogun EO. Human schistosomiasis in Nigeria: present status, diagnosis, chemotherapy, and herbal medicines. Parasitol Res 2023; 122:2751-2772. [PMID: 37851179 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-07993-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by a parasitic, trematode blood fluke of the genus Schistosoma. With 20 million people infected, mostly due to Schistosoma haematobium, Nigeria has the highest burden of schistosomiasis in the world. We review the status of human schistosomiasis in Nigeria regarding its distribution, prevalence, diagnosis, prevention, orthodox and traditional treatments, as well as snail control strategies. Of the country's 36 states, the highest disease prevalence is found in Lagos State, but at a geo-political zonal level, the northwest is the most endemic. The predominantly used diagnostic techniques are based on microscopy. Other methods such as antibody-based serological assays and DNA detection methods are rarely employed. Possible biomarkers of disease have been identified in fecal and blood samples from patients. With respect to preventive chemotherapy, mass drug administration with praziquantel as well as individual studies with artemisinin or albendazole have been reported in 11 out of the 36 states with cure rates between 51.1 and 100%. Also, Nigerian medicinal plants have been traditionally used as anti-schistosomal agents or molluscicides, of which Tetrapleura tetraptera (Oshosho, aridan, Aidan fruit), Carica papaya (Gwanda, Ìbẹ́pẹ, Pawpaw), Borreria verticillata (Karya garma, Irawo-ile, African borreria), and Calliandra portoricensis (Tude, Oga, corpse awakener) are most common in the scientific literature. We conclude that the high endemicity of the disease in Nigeria is associated with the limited application of various diagnostic tools and preventive chemotherapy efforts as well as poor knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Nonetheless, the country could serve as a scientific base in the discovery of biomarkers, as well as novel plant-derived schistosomicides and molluscicides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umar Saidu
- Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria
| | - Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim
- Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
| | - Harry P de Koning
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - James H McKerrow
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC0657, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Conor R Caffrey
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC0657, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun
- Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Forensic Biotechnology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
- Center for Discovery and Innovation in Parasitic Diseases, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC0657, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Chemistry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
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Anisuzzaman, Hossain MS, Hatta T, Labony SS, Kwofie KD, Kawada H, Tsuji N, Alim MA. Food- and vector-borne parasitic zoonoses: Global burden and impacts. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2023; 120:87-136. [PMID: 36948728 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
Abstract
Around 25% of the global population suffer from one or more parasitic infections, of which food- and vector-borne parasitic zoonotic diseases are a major concern. Additionally, zoonoses and communicable diseases, common to man and animals, are drawing increased attention worldwide. Significant changes in climatic conditions, cropping pattern, demography, food habits, increasing international travel, marketing and trade, deforestation, and urbanization play vital roles in the emergence and re-emergence of parasitic zoonoses. Although it is likely to be underestimated, the collective burden of food- and vector-borne parasitic diseases accounts for ∼60 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Out of 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 13 diseases are of parasitic origin. There are about 200 zoonotic diseases of which the WHO listed eight as neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs) in the year 2013. Out of these eight NZDs, four diseases, namely cysticercosis, hydatidosis, leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis, are caused by parasites. In this review, we discuss the global burden and impacts of food- and vector-borne zoonotic parasitic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anisuzzaman
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
| | - Md Shahadat Hossain
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
| | - Takeshi Hatta
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Minami, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Sharmin Shahid Labony
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
| | - Kofi Dadzie Kwofie
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Minami, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan; Department of Parasitology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Hayato Kawada
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Minami, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Naotoshi Tsuji
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Minami, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan.
| | - Md Abdul Alim
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
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