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Article

First Molecular Identification of Bulinus africanus in Lake Malawi Implicated in Transmitting Schistosoma Parasites

by
Mohammad H. Alharbi
1,2,*,
Cynthia Iravoga
1,
Sekeleghe A. Kayuni
1,3,
Lucas Cunningham
1,
E. James LaCourse
1,
Peter Makaula
4 and
J. Russell Stothard
1
1
Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK
2
Ministry of Health, Buraydah 52367, Saudi Arabia
3
MASM Medi Clinics Limited, Medical Society of Malawi (MASM), Lilongwe P.O. Box 1254, Malawi
4
Research for Health, Environment and Development (RHED), Mangochi P.O. Box 345, Malawi
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2022, 7(8), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080195
Submission received: 30 June 2022 / Revised: 29 July 2022 / Accepted: 5 August 2022 / Published: 19 August 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Schistosomiasis in Endemic Countries and in Travelers—Two Sides of the Same Coin)
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Abstract

The freshwater snail genus Bulinus plays a vital role in transmitting parasites of the Schistosoma haematobium group. A hybrid schistosome between S. haematobium and S. mattheei has been recently detected using DNA-based identification methods in school children along the Lake Malawi shoreline in Mangochi District. This finding raised the need for contemporary revaluation of local interactions between schistosomes and snails, with a particular focus on snail species within the Bulinus africanus group. In 2017 and 2018, malacological surveys sampled several freshwater sites in Mangochi District. Collected snails (n = 250) were characterised using cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1), with DNA barcoding of the ‘Folmer’ region and a rapid PCR-RFLP typing assay with double digestion with HaeIII and SacI restriction enzymes. DNA cox1 sequence analysis, with phylogenetic tree construction, suggested the presence of at least three B. africanus group taxa in Lake Malawi, B. globosus, alongside first reports of B. africanus and B. angolensis, which can be differentiated by PCR-RFLP methods. In addition, a total of 30 of the 106 B. africanus group snails (28.30%) were positive to the Schistosoma-specific screen using real-time PCR methods. This study provides new insight into the recent changes in the epidemiology of urogenital schistosomiasis as likely driven by a new diversity of B. africanus group snails within the Lake.
Keywords: Schistosoma haematobium; urogenital schistosomiasis Schistosoma haematobium; urogenital schistosomiasis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Alharbi, M.H.; Iravoga, C.; Kayuni, S.A.; Cunningham, L.; LaCourse, E.J.; Makaula, P.; Stothard, J.R. First Molecular Identification of Bulinus africanus in Lake Malawi Implicated in Transmitting Schistosoma Parasites. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2022, 7, 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080195

AMA Style

Alharbi MH, Iravoga C, Kayuni SA, Cunningham L, LaCourse EJ, Makaula P, Stothard JR. First Molecular Identification of Bulinus africanus in Lake Malawi Implicated in Transmitting Schistosoma Parasites. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2022; 7(8):195. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080195

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alharbi, Mohammad H., Cynthia Iravoga, Sekeleghe A. Kayuni, Lucas Cunningham, E. James LaCourse, Peter Makaula, and J. Russell Stothard. 2022. "First Molecular Identification of Bulinus africanus in Lake Malawi Implicated in Transmitting Schistosoma Parasites" Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 7, no. 8: 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080195

APA Style

Alharbi, M. H., Iravoga, C., Kayuni, S. A., Cunningham, L., LaCourse, E. J., Makaula, P., & Stothard, J. R. (2022). First Molecular Identification of Bulinus africanus in Lake Malawi Implicated in Transmitting Schistosoma Parasites. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 7(8), 195. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7080195

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