English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Background  Schistosomiasis, also generally known as snail fever, is a parasitic disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus  Schistosoma . In Hong Kong and mainland China, the freshwater snail  Biomphalaria straminea  has been introduced and has the potential to transmit intestinal schistosomiasis caused by  S. mansoni , a parasite of man which has a wide distribution in Africa and parts of the New World, especially Brazil. The first identification of  B. straminea  in Hong Kong dates back to the 1970s, and its geographical distribution, phylogenetic relationships, and infection status have not been updated for more than 30 years. Thus, this study aims to reveal the distribution and current infection status of  B. straminea  in contemporary Hong Kong.    Methods  Snails were collected from different parts of Hong Kong from July 2016 to January 2017. Both anatomical and molecular methods were applied to identify  B. straminea . Cytochrome  c  oxidase subunit 1 ( cox 1), internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), 5.8S rDNA, internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), and 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) were sequenced from individual snails and analyzed. To detect the presence of  S. mansoni , both biopsy and PCR analyses were carried out.    Results  Using both anatomical and molecular analyses, this study demonstrated the existence of black- and red-coloured shell  B. straminea  in different districts in the New Territories in Hong Kong, including places close to the mainland China border. None of the  B. straminea  ( n  = 87) investigated were found to be infected with  S. mansoni  when tested by biopsy and PCR. The Hong Kong  B. straminea  are genetically indistinguishable, based on the chosen molecular markers ( cox 1, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, and 16S rDNA), and are similar to those obtained in mainland China and South America.    Conclusion    Biomphalaria straminea  is now well established in freshwater habitats in Hong Kong. No evidence of infection with  S. mansoni  has been found. Surveillance should be continued to monitor and better understand this schistosomiasis intermediate host in mainland China and Hong Kong.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2285-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Distribution and current infection status of Biomphalaria straminea in Hong Kong