A first report of Biomphalaria pfeifferi in the Lower Shire Valley, Southern Malawi, a major intermediate snail host species for intestinal schistosomiasis

Nkolokosa, Clinton, Mbewe, Rex, Chirombo, James, Stanton, Michelle ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1754-4894, Jones, Chris ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6504-6224, Makaula, Peter, Namacha, Gladys, Chiepa, Blessings, Kalonde, Patrick, Baluwa, Chifuniro, Zembere, Kennedy, Kambewa, Eggrey Aisha, Kaonga, Chikumbusko Chiziwa, Archer, John, Juhász, Alexandra, Cunningham, Lucas, Tangena, Julie-Anne and Stothard, Russell ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9370-3420 (2025) 'A first report of Biomphalaria pfeifferi in the Lower Shire Valley, Southern Malawi, a major intermediate snail host species for intestinal schistosomiasis'. Scientific Reports, Vol 15, Issue 1, p. 5603.

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Abstract

The distribution of certain permissive intermediate snail host species in freshwater is a crucial factor shaping transmission of intestinal schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease that causes much human suffering in Africa. To shed new light on southern Malawi, where cases of intestinal schistosomiasis have been found, repeated malacological surveys were conducted in Chikwawa and Nsanje Districts in the Lower Shire Valley, to detect and to characterize populations of Biomphalaria, the intermediate host for intestinal schistosomiasis. Sampling took place across a total of 45 freshwater sites, noting water conductivity, pH, temperature, total dissolved salts (TDS) and geographical elevation. The presence or absence of snails was predicted upon physiochemical and environmental conditions in Random Forest modelling. Water conductivity, TDS and geographical elevation were most important in predicting abundance of snails with water temperature and pH of slightly less important roles. This first report of B. pfeifferi in the Lower Shire Valley enhances understanding of the environmental factors that strongly associate and allow prediction of its local distribution. This represents a useful step towards developing appropriate intervention strategies to mitigate intestinal schistosomiasis transmission.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 675 Mollusca WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 695 Parasitic diseases (General) WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 698 Parasitic intestinal diseases (General) WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 810 Schistosomiasis
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology Biological Sciences > Vector Biology Department Education
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-88930-4
SWORD Depositor:	JISC Pubrouter
Depositing User:	JISC Pubrouter
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2025 11:56
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2025 11:56
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/26197

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