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Background  Schistosomiasis is a snail-borne disease endemic in sub-Saharan Africa transmitted by freshwater snails. The distribution of schistosomiasis coincides with that of the intermediate hosts as determined by climatic and environmental factors. The aim of this paper was to model the spatial and seasonal distribution of suitable habitats for  Bulinus globosus  and  Biomphalaria pfeifferi  snail species (intermediate hosts for  Schistosoma haematobium  and  Schistosoma mansoni , respectively) in the Ndumo area of uMkhanyakude district, South Africa.    Methods  Maximum Entropy (Maxent) modelling technique was used to predict the distribution of suitable habitats for  B. globosus  and  B. pfeifferi  using presence-only datasets with ≥ 5 and ≤ 12 sampling points in different seasons. Precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI), pH, slope and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) were the background variables in the Maxent models. The models were validated using the area under the curve (AUC) and omission rate.    Results  The predicted suitable habitats for intermediate snail hosts varied with seasons. The AUC for models in all seasons ranged from 0.71 to 1 and the prediction rates were between 0.8 and 0.9. Although  B. globosus  was found at more localities in the Ndumo area, there was also evidence of cohabiting with  B. pfiefferi  at some of the locations. NDWI had significant contribution to the models in all seasons.    Conclusion  The Maxent model is robust in snail habitat suitability modelling even with small dataset of presence-only sampling sites. Application of the methods and design used in this study may be useful in developing a control and management programme for schistosomiasis in the Ndumo area.

parasites and vectors

Modelling the spatial and seasonal distribution of suitable habitats of schistosomiasis intermediate host snails using Maxent in Ndumo area, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa