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Microorganisms
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Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis
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Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Parasitology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 20584

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jérôme Boissier

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Universite de Perpignan, UMR 5244 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Perpignan, France
Interests: tropical disease; emergence; schistosomiasis; hybrid; molecular ecology; One Health; reservoir hosts

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic disease caused by a parasite of the Schistosoma genus. It is the most prevalent neglected tropical disease in sub-Saharan Africa. It remains a great public health problem in several tropical and subtropical countries. Moreover, since 2013, several clusters of urogenital schistosomiasis have emerged on Corsica Island (France) determining that this disease is not just tropical. Several complementary approaches have been developed to fight against this pathogen. For this Special Issue, we invite send manuscripts with a broad panel of methodologies, from lab molecular studies to field approaches, aiming to understand the parasite for better control.

Prof. Dr. Jérôme Boissier
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transmission
  • control
  • hybrid
  • Schistosoma
  • snail host
  • reservoir host
  • genetic

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 1173 KiB  
Article
ABO Blood Groups Do Not Predict Schistosoma mansoni Infection Profiles in Highly Endemic Villages of Uganda
by Rachel Francoeur, Alon Atuhaire, Moses Arinaitwe, Moses Adriko, Diana Ajambo, Andrina Nankasi, Simon A. Babayan and Poppy H. L. Lamberton
Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2448; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122448 - 27 Nov 2021
Viewed by 3131
Abstract
Schistosoma mansoni is a parasite which causes significant public-health issues, with over 240 million people infected globally. In Uganda alone, approximately 11.6 million people are affected. Despite over a decade of mass drug administration in this country, hyper-endemic hotspots persist, and individuals who [...] Read more.
Schistosoma mansoni is a parasite which causes significant public-health issues, with over 240 million people infected globally. In Uganda alone, approximately 11.6 million people are affected. Despite over a decade of mass drug administration in this country, hyper-endemic hotspots persist, and individuals who are repeatedly heavily and rapidly reinfected are observed. Human blood-type antigens are known to play a role in the risk of infection for a variety of diseases, due to cross-reactivity between host antibodies and pathogenic antigens. There have been conflicting results on the effect of blood type on schistosomiasis infection and pathology. Moreover, the effect of blood type as a potential intrinsic host factor on S. mansoni prevalence, intensity, clearance, and reinfection dynamics and on co-infection risk remains unknown. Therefore, the epidemiological link between host blood type and S. mansoni infection dynamics was assessed in three hyper-endemic communities in Uganda. Longitudinal data incorporating repeated pretreatment S. mansoni infection intensities and clearance rates were used to analyse associations between blood groups in school-aged children. Soil-transmitted helminth coinfection status and biometric parameters were incorporated in a generalised linear mixed regression model including age, gender, and body mass index (BMI), which have previously been established as significant factors influencing the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis. The analysis revealed no associations between blood type and S. mansoni prevalence, infection intensity, clearance, reinfection, or coinfection. Variations in infection profiles were significantly different between the villages, and egg burden significantly decreased with age. While blood type has proven to be a predictor of several diseases, the data collected in this study indicate that it does not play a significant role in S. mansoni infection burdens in these high-endemicity communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis)
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14 pages, 2628 KiB  
Article
Environmental Drivers and Potential Distribution of Schistosoma mansoni Endemic Areas in Ethiopia
by Keerati Ponpetch, Berhanu Erko, Teshome Bekana, Tadesse Kebede, Di Tian, Yang Yang and Song Liang
Microorganisms 2021, 9(10), 2144; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9102144 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3312
Abstract
In Ethiopia, human schistosomiasis is caused by two species of schistosome, Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium, with the former being dominant in the country, causing infections of more than 5 million people and more than 37 million at risk of infection. What is [...] Read more.
In Ethiopia, human schistosomiasis is caused by two species of schistosome, Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium, with the former being dominant in the country, causing infections of more than 5 million people and more than 37 million at risk of infection. What is more, new transmission foci for S. mansoni have been reported over the past years in the country, raising concerns over the potential impacts of environmental changes (e.g., climate change) on the disease spread. Knowledge on the distribution of schistosomiasis endemic areas and associated drivers is much needed for surveillance and control programs in the country. Here we report a study that aims to examine environmental determinants underlying the distribution and suitability of S. mansoni endemic areas at the national scale of Ethiopia. The study identified that, among five physical environmental factors examined, soil property, elevation, and climatic factors (e.g., precipitation and temperature) are key factors associated with the distribution of S. mansoni endemic areas. The model predicted that the suitable areas for schistosomiasis transmission are largely distributed in northern, central, and western parts of the country, suggesting a potentially wide distribution of S. mansoni endemic areas. The findings of this study are potentially instrumental to inform public health surveillance, intervention, and future research on schistosomiasis in Ethiopia. The modeling approaches employed in this study may be extended to other schistosomiasis endemic regions and to other vector-borne diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis)
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18 pages, 1255 KiB  
Article
Hybridized Zoonotic Schistosoma Infections Result in Hybridized Morbidity Profiles: A Clinical Morbidity Study amongst Co-Infected Human Populations of Senegal
by Cheikh B. Fall, Sébastien Lambert, Elsa Léger, Lucy Yasenev, Amadou Djirmay Garba, Samba D. Diop, Anna Borlase, Stefano Catalano, Babacar Faye, Martin Walker, Mariama Sene and Joanne P. Webster
Microorganisms 2021, 9(8), 1776; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9081776 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3724
Abstract
Hybridization of infectious agents is a major emerging public and veterinary health concern at the interface of evolution, epidemiology, and control. Whilst evidence of the extent of hybridization amongst parasites is increasing, their impact on morbidity remains largely unknown. This may be predicted [...] Read more.
Hybridization of infectious agents is a major emerging public and veterinary health concern at the interface of evolution, epidemiology, and control. Whilst evidence of the extent of hybridization amongst parasites is increasing, their impact on morbidity remains largely unknown. This may be predicted to be particularly pertinent where parasites of animals with contrasting pathogenicity viably hybridize with human parasites. Recent research has revealed that viable zoonotic hybrids between human urogenital Schistosoma haematobium with intestinal Schistosoma species of livestock, notably Schistosoma bovis, can be highly prevalent across Africa and beyond. Examining human populations in Senegal, we found increased hepatic but decreased urogenital morbidity, and reduced improvement following treatment with praziquantel, in those infected with zoonotic hybrids compared to non-hybrids. Our results have implications for effective monitoring and evaluation of control programmes, and demonstrate for the first time the potential impact of parasite hybridizations on host morbidity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis)
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20 pages, 5407 KiB  
Article
Experimental Infection of the Biomphalaria glabrata Vector Snail by Schistosoma mansoni Parasites Drives Snail Microbiota Dysbiosis
by Anaïs Portet, Eve Toulza, Ana Lokmer, Camille Huot, David Duval, Richard Galinier and Benjamin Gourbal
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 1084; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9051084 - 18 May 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4270
Abstract
Host-parasite interaction can result in a strong alteration of the host-associated microbiota. This dysbiosis can affect the fitness of the host; can modify pathogen interaction and the outcome of diseases. Biomphalaria glabrata is the snail intermediate host of the trematode Schistosoma mansoni, [...] Read more.
Host-parasite interaction can result in a strong alteration of the host-associated microbiota. This dysbiosis can affect the fitness of the host; can modify pathogen interaction and the outcome of diseases. Biomphalaria glabrata is the snail intermediate host of the trematode Schistosoma mansoni, the agent of human schistosomiasis, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths every year. Here, we present the first study of the snail bacterial microbiota in response to Schistosoma infection. We examined the interplay between B. glabrata, S. mansoni and host microbiota. Snails were infected and the microbiota composition was analysed by 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing approach. We demonstrated that the microbial composition of water did not affect the microbiota composition. Then, we characterised the Biomphalaria bacterial microbiota at the individual scale in both naive and infected snails. Sympatric and allopatric strains of parasites were used for infections and re-infections to analyse the modification or dysbiosis of snail microbiota in different host-parasite co-evolutionary contexts. Concomitantly, using RNAseq, we investigated the link between bacterial microbiota dysbiosis and snail anti-microbial peptide immune response. This work paves the way for a better understanding of snail/schistosome interaction and should have critical consequences in terms of snail control strategies for fighting schistosomiasis disease in the field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis)
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Review

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19 pages, 3539 KiB  
Review
Natural Intra- and Interclade Human Hybrid Schistosomes in Africa with Considerations on Prevention through Vaccination
by Ursula Panzner and Jerome Boissier
Microorganisms 2021, 9(7), 1465; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9071465 - 8 Jul 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4726
Abstract
Causal agents of schistosomiasis are dioecious, digenean schistosomes affecting mankind in 76 countries. Preventive measures are manifold but need to be complemented by vaccination for long-term protection; vaccine candidates in advanced pre-clinical/clinical stages include Sm14, Sm-TSP-2/Sm-TSP-2Al®, Smp80/SchistoShield®, and Sh28GST/Bilhvax [...] Read more.
Causal agents of schistosomiasis are dioecious, digenean schistosomes affecting mankind in 76 countries. Preventive measures are manifold but need to be complemented by vaccination for long-term protection; vaccine candidates in advanced pre-clinical/clinical stages include Sm14, Sm-TSP-2/Sm-TSP-2Al®, Smp80/SchistoShield®, and Sh28GST/Bilhvax®. Natural and anthropogenic changes impact on breaking species isolation barriers favoring introgressive hybridization, i.e., allelic exchange among gene pools of sympatric, interbreeding species leading to instant large genetic diversity. Phylogenetic distance matters, thus the less species differ phylogenetically the more likely they hybridize. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for publications limited to hybridale confirmation by mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX) and/or nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Human schistosomal hybrids are predominantly reported from West Africa with clustering in the Senegal River Basin, and scattering to Europe, Central and Eastern Africa. Noteworthy is the dominance of Schistosoma haematobium interbreeding with human and veterinary species leading due to hybrid vigor to extinction and homogenization as seen for S. guineensis in Cameroon and S. haematobium in Niger, respectively. Heterosis seems to advantage S. haematobium/S. bovis interbreeds with dominant S. haematobium-ITS/S. bovis-COX1 profile to spread from West to East Africa and reoccur in France. S. haematobium/S. mansoni interactions seen among Senegalese and Côte d’Ivoirian children are unexpected due to their high phylogenetic distance. Detecting pure S. bovis and S. bovis/S. curassoni crosses capable of infecting humans observed in Corsica and Côte d’Ivoire, and Niger, respectively, is worrisome. Taken together, species hybridization urges control and preventive measures targeting human and veterinary sectors in line with the One-Health concept to be complemented by vaccination protecting against transmission, infection, and disease recurrence. Functional and structural diversity of naturally occurring human schistosomal hybrids may impact current vaccine candidates requiring further research including natural history studies in endemic areas targeted for clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosoma and Schistosomiasis)
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