Multihost Transmission of <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> in Senegal, 2015–2018
Stefano Catalano, Elsa Léger, Cheikh Binetou Fall, Anna Borlase, S Diop, Duncan Berger, Bonnie L. Webster, Babacar Faye, Nicolas D. Diouf, David Rollinson, Mariama Sène, Khalilou Bâ, Joanne P. Webster
Abstract
T he collective image of schistosomiasis in Africa remains that of a mainly human-driven disease; schistosomiasis inflicted a burden of >2.5 million disability-adjusted life-years in 2016 and required that 200 million persons be treated with preventive chemotherapy in 2017 (1). As pledged by the World Health Organization (2), the goal to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem by 2030 can only be achieved through transdisciplinary programs that improve sanitation and hygiene and provide access to safe water sources, health education, and chemotherapeutic treatments for at-risk populations. Furthermore, answers on the host specificity of human schistosomes and the impact of multihost transmission on disease control strategies remain imperative (3). In Asia, vertebrate reservoirs for Schistosoma japonicum (largely ruminants, rodents, and other mammals) play a crucial role in perpetuating the transmission of this zoonotic parasite, even under strong multisectoral control pressures (4,5). Likewise, in the Caribbean and South America, where evidence supports the introduction of Schistosoma mansoni from West Africa via the transatlantic slave trade (6), rodent populations have become the main reservoirs of S. mansoni; transmission in this region can be maintained in absence of human activity