Open AccessA preliminary study on the distribution of breeding sites of BIOMPHALARIA GLABRATA in the municipality of peri mirim, a low endemicity area for schistosomiasis in northeast Brazil
Author(s) -
Andrea Teles dos Reis,
Carla Fernanda do Carmo Silva,
Raynara Fernanda Silva Soares,
Diogo Tavares Cardoso,
João Gustavo Mendes Rodrigues,
Ranielly Araújo Nogueira,
Guilherme Silva Miranda,
Nêuton Silva-Souza
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista de patologia tropical / journal of tropical pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1080-8178
pISSN - 0301-0406
DOI - 10.5216/rpt.v50i3.67413
Subject(s) - biomphalaria glabrata , schistosoma mansoni , biomphalaria , schistosomiasis , intermediate host , biology , outbreak , geography , veterinary medicine , ecology , zoology , helminths , medicine , virology , host (biology)
Information on areas colonized by snails that transmit Schistosoma mansoni is essential for planning schistosomiasis control measures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to map the natural breeding sites of Biomphalaria spp. in the municipality of Peri Mirim, Maranhão, Brazil. The snails were manually collected and the breeding sites were geo-referenced (seven in the urban area and five in flooded fields), from November 2017 to March 2018. In the laboratory, the snails were examined for the presence of larval stages of S. mansoni identified by morphology and internal anatomy analysis. While no snails were found in the urban area, sixteen B. glabrata were collected in the flooded fields. No S. mansoni or other trematode infections were detected. Wild rodents, most likely Holochilus sciureus that could act as S. mansoni reservoirs, were also found in the flooded fields. These data indicate possible risk areas for further outbreaks of schistosomiasis transmission in the municipality of Peri Mirim.KEY WORDS: Baixada Maranhense; malacological survey; planorbidae; spatial analysis.