The Senegalese and Brazilian strains of Schistosoma mansoni exhibit high compatibility with Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Biomphalaria glabrata.

BACKGROUND

Intestinal schistosomiasis, caused by Schistosoma mansoni, is endemic in both Africa and South America. In Senegal and Brazil, S. mansoni is transmitted by Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Biomphalaria glabrata, respectively. With increasing human migration from Senegal to the Americas, there is a potential risk of transferring parasite strains across continents. Understanding the compatibility between Schistosoma species and strains, and snail hosts is therefore essential. This study investigated the compatibility of two S. mansoni strains from Senegal (SmSEN) and Brazil (SmBRA) with both B. pfeifferi (BpSEN) and B. glabrata (BgBRA) originating from Senegal and Brazil, respectively.

METHODS

Four infection combinations were performed: (1) SmSEN + BpSEN (2) SmSEN + BgBRA (3) SmBRA + BgBRA, and (4) SmBRA + BpSEN. A minimum of 72 snails were individually exposed to five miracidia per combination.

RESULTS

The data show high compatibility between Brazilian and Senegalese S. mansoni with B. pfeifferi (92.4% and 77.3%, respectively). In contrast, both strains showed a low compatibility with B. glabrata, with rates of 67.3 and 48% for the Brazilian and Senegalese S. mansoni, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The high compatibility between S. mansoni and Biomphalaria species from Senegal and Brazil highlights the adaptability of S. mansoni to infect different Biomphalaria species across geographically distinct regions. These findings emphasize the importance of monitoring areas at risk of schistosomiasis emergence, particularly in the context of human migration and the invasive spread of Biomphalaria species into novel environments.