Hybrids between Schistosoma mansoni and S. rodhaini : characterization by isoelectric focusing of six enzymes

Une étude par isoélectrofocalisation sur gels polyacrulamides à partir d'extraits de #S. mansoni (Guadeloupe) et #S. rodhaini (Burundi) et de leurs hybrides expérimentaux (première et deuxième générations) a été entreprise sur 6 systèmes enzymatiques (LDH, MDH, G6PD, AcP, PGM et GPI). Il a été mis en évidence un polymorphisme avec MDH (locus MDH-1 et MDH-2) et une hérédité liée au sexe avec GPI. Une interprétation génétique est proposée pour expliquer ces résultats et une comparaison est faite avec les résultats obtenus par électrophorèse pour #S. mansoni$ et #S. rodhaini

Isothermal Recombinase Polymerase amplification (RPA) of Schistosoma haematobium DNA and oligochromatographic lateral flow detection

© 2015 Rosser et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Geochemical and mineralogical record of the impact of mining on the Teign Estuary, Devon, UK

Previous mineralogical and geochemical studies on the sediments in the Teign Estuary, Devon, UK, have shown that there are elevated levels of barium present within the surface sediments and the river catchment due to historical mining. For this investigation, 8 shallow cores (<1 m) were recovered from various locations in the estuary. These cores were subsequently logged, photographed and divided into approximately 5 cm depth intervals. The geochemistry and mineralogy of 68 samples from the cores were analysed. Bulk sediment geochemistry was determined by XRF and data for Ba, Cu, Pb and Zn are presented here. The mineralogy of the samples was determined by XRD. In addition, the samples from two cores were selected for mineralogical analysis using automated SEM-EDS (QEMSCAN®). The data show a sediment depth related geochemical trend with typically the lowest concentrations of Ba, Cu, Zn and Pb at the bases of the cores. Several of the sampling sites reveal a marked peak in the concentration of Pb and Zn mid-core; however, Cu values are low and invariant throughout. Postdating the Pb-Zn peak, there is a subsequent elevation in Ba in many of the cores studied, at a sediment depth of between 10 and 20 cm. Maximum concentrations of Ba reach 3360 ppm; Pb, 2220 ppm; Zn, 887 ppm and Cu, 258 ppm. Detrital minerals present include: barite, rutile, ilmenite, zircon, monazite, pyrite, cassiterite, sphalerite, galena and chalcopyrite. Framboidal pyrite is the only diagenetic mineral observed. The geochemical results are consistent with the historical mining records in the catchment, with barite mining postdating Pb-Zn mining. Both episodes of mining have released particulate mine waste, which has accumulated within the estuarine sediments

The genetic diversity and geographical separation study of Oncomelania hupensis populations in mainland China using microsatellite loci

© 2016 Guan et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor

Praziquantel coverage in schools and communities targeted for the elimination of urogenital schistosomiasis in Zanzibar: a cross-sectional survey

© 2015 Knopp et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Reconstructing Colonization Dynamics of the Human Parasite Schistosoma mansoni following Anthropogenic Environmental Changes in Northwest Senegal

© 2015 Van den Broeck et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article

Elimination of Schistosomiasis Transmission in Zanzibar: Baseline Findings before the Onset of a Randomized Intervention Trial.

Gaining and sustaining control of schistosomiasis and, whenever feasible, achieving local elimination are the year 2020 targets set by the World Health Organization. In Zanzibar, various institutions and stakeholders have joined forces to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis within 5 years. We report baseline findings before the onset of a randomized intervention trial designed to assess the differential impact of community-based praziquantel administration, snail control, and behavior change interventions. In early 2012, a baseline parasitological survey was conducted in ∼20,000 people from 90 communities in Unguja and Pemba. Risk factors for schistosomiasis were assessed by administering a questionnaire to adults. In selected communities, local knowledge about schistosomiasis transmission and prevention was determined in focus group discussions and in-depths interviews. Intermediate host snails were collected and examined for shedding of cercariae. The baseline Schistosoma haematobium prevalence in school children and adults was 4.3% (range: 0-19.7%) and 2.7% (range: 0-26.5%) in Unguja, and 8.9% (range: 0-31.8%) and 5.5% (range: 0-23.4%) in Pemba, respectively. Heavy infections were detected in 15.1% and 35.6% of the positive school children in Unguja and Pemba, respectively. Males were at higher risk than females (odds ratio (OR): 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03-2.03). Decreasing adult age (OR: 1.04; CI: 1.02-1.06), being born in Pemba (OR: 1.48; CI: 1.02-2.13) or Tanzania (OR: 2.36; CI: 1.16-4.78), and use of freshwater (OR: 2.15; CI: 1.53-3.03) showed higher odds of infection. Community knowledge about schistosomiasis was low. Only few infected Bulinus snails were found. The relatively low S. haematobium prevalence in Zanzibar is a promising starting point for elimination. However, there is a need to improve community knowledge about disease transmission and prevention. Control measures tailored to the local context, placing particular attention to hot-spot areas, high-risk groups, and individuals, will be necessary if elimination is to be achieved

Study and implementation of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba islands) using an integrated multidisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a parasitic infection that continues to be a major public health problem in many developing countries being responsible for an estimated burden of at least 1.4 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Africa alone. However, morbidity due to schistosomiasis has been greatly reduced in some parts of the world, including Zanzibar. The Zanzibar government is now committed to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis. Over the next 3--5 years, the whole at-risk population will be administered praziquantel (40 mg/kg) biannually. Additionally, snail control and behaviour change interventions will be implemented in selected communities and the impact measured in a randomized intervention trial. METHODS: In this 5-year research study, on both Unguja and Pemba islands, urogenital schistosomiasis will be assessed in 45 communities with urine filtration and reagent strips in 4,500 schoolchildren aged 9--12 years annually, and in 4,500 first-year schoolchildren and 2,250 adults in years 1 and 5. Additionally, from first-year schoolchildren, a finger-prick blood sample will be collected and examined for Schistosoma haematobium infection biomarkers. Changes in prevalence and infection intensity will be assessed annually. Among the 45 communities, 15 were randomized for biannual snail control with niclosamide, in concordance with preventive chemotherapy campaigns. The reduction of Bulinus globosus snail populations and S. haematobium-infected snails will be investigated. In 15 other communities, interventions triggering behaviour change have been designed and will be implemented in collaboration with the community. A change in knowledge, attitudes and practices will be assessed annually through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with schoolchildren, teachers, parents and community leaders. In all 45 communities, changes in the health system, water and sanitation infrastructure will be annually tracked by standardized questionnaire-interviews with community leaders. Additional issues potentially impacting on study outcomes and all incurring costs will be monitored and recorded. DISCUSSION: Elimination of schistosomiasis has become a priority on the agenda of the Zanzibar government and the international community. Our study will contribute to identifying what, in addition to preventive chemotherapy, needs to be done to prevent, control, and ultimately eliminate schistosomiasis, and to draw lessons for current and future schistosomiasis elimination programmes in Africa and elsewhere.Trial registrationISRCTN4883768

Health education and the control of urogenital schistosomiasis: assessing the impact of the Juma na Kichocho comic-strip medical booklet in Zanzibar

Endeavours to control urogenital schistosomiasis on Unguja Island (Zanzibar) have focused on school-aged children. To assess the impact of an associated health education campaign, the supervised use of the comic-strip medical booklet Juma na Kichocho by Class V pupils attending eighteen primary schools was investigated. A validated knowledge and attitudes questionnaire was completed at baseline and repeated one year later following the regular use of the booklet during the calendar year. A scoring system (ranging from 0.0 to 5.0) measured children's understandings of schistosomiasis and malaria, with the latter being a neutral comparator against specific changes for schistosomiasis. In 2006, the average score from 751 children (328 boys and 423 girls) was 2.39 for schistosomiasis and 3.03 for malaria. One year later, the score was 2.43 for schistosomiasis and 2.70 for malaria from 779 children (351 boys and 428 girls). As might be expected, knowledge and attitudes scores for schistosomiasis increased (+0.05), but not as much as originally hoped, while the score for malaria decreased (-0.33). According to a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, neither change was statistically significant. Analysis also revealed that 75% of school children misunderstood the importance of reinfection after treatment with praziquantel. These results are disappointing. They demonstrate that it is mistaken to assume that knowledge conveyed in child-friendly booklets will necessarily be interpreted, and acted upon, in the way intended. If long-term sustained behavioural change is to be achieved, health education materials need to engage more closely with local understandings and responses to urogenital schistosomiasis. This, in turn, needs to be part of the development of a more holistic, biosocial approach to the control of schistosomiasis

The substructure of three repetitive DNA regions of Schistosoma haematobium group species as a potential marker for species recognition and interbreeding detection

The file attached is the Published/publisher’s pdf version of the article.© The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated