The role of snail aestivation in transmission of schistosomiasis in changing climatic conditions

Rubaba, Owen; Chimbari, MJ; Mukaratirwa, Samson

doi:10.2989/16085914.2016.1145103

Cited by 26 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…; Rubaba et al. ). Parasites in this study had increased reproduction in response to drought stress and the expected future loss of reproduction success, regardless of the actual survivorship outcome of their host.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Rubaba et al. ). If the addition of an environmental stressor increases the risk of mortality to an infected host, then we predict that infected snail hosts under drought stress will have (1) increased fecundity compensation, with higher reproduction in the prepatent period of infection, but (2) lower total reproduction and growth because the addition of an environmental stressor on top of infection will impede the snail's ability to respond in an adaptive manner.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In addition to this, it is common for snails to clear parasitic infections during aestivation (Rubaba et al. ), further increasing the risk of parasite mortality from drought. If the parasite is capable of responding to host stress, we predict that S. mansoni infections in snails under drought stress will evince (1) shorter prepatent periods (less time between exposure and emergence of infective stages), and (2) higher early reproductive output (produce more cercariae).…”

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confidence: 99%

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One stimulus-Two responses: Host and parasite life-history variation in response to environmental stress

2016

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Climate change stressors will place different selective pressures on both parasites and their hosts, forcing individuals to modify their life-history strategies and altering the distribution and prevalence of disease. Few studies have investigated whether parasites are able to respond to host stress and respond by varying their reproductive schedules. Additionally, multiple environmental stressors can limit the ability of a host to respond adaptively to parasite infection. This study compared both host and parasite life-history parameters in unstressed and drought-stressed environments using the human parasite, Schistosoma mansoni, in its freshwater snail intermediate host. Snail hosts infected with the parasite demonstrated a significant reproductive burst during the prepatent period (fecundity compensation), but that response was absent in a drought-stressed environment. This is the first report of the elimination of host fecundity compensation to parasitism when exposed to additional environmental stress. More surprisingly, we found that infections in drought-stressed snails had significantly higher parasite reproductive outputs than infections in unstressed snails. The finding suggests that climate change may alter the infection dynamics of this human parasite.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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confidence: 97%

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confidence: 99%

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One stimulus-Two responses: Host and parasite life-history variation in response to environmental stress

2016

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“…Furthermore, change in climate has been predicted to increase the duration, frequency and intensity of droughts [ 48 ]. These factors may also affect the survival and reproduction of IH snails as well as lead to their aestivation [ 49 ]. Nevertheless, resumption of suitable conditions has been observed to upsurge the population of B .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of population dynamics of Bulinus globosus: Effects of environmental temperature on production of Schistosoma haematobium cercariae

et al. 2018

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BackgroundTemperature is an important factor that influences the biology and ecology of intermediate host (IH) snails and the schistosome parasites they transmit. Although temperature shifts due to climate change has been predicted to affect the life history traits of IH snails and parasite production, the mechanisms of how this may affect parasite abundance and disease risks are still not clear.Materials and methodsUsing data from laboratory and field experiments, we developed a deterministic compartmental simulation model based on difference equations using a weekly time step that represented the life cycle of Bulinus globosus. We simulated snail population dynamics and the associated production of cercariae assuming current environmental temperatures as well as projected temperature increases of 1 °C and 2 °C.ResultsThe model generated snail fecundity and survival rates similar to those observed in the laboratory and also produced reasonable snail population dynamics under seasonally varying temperatures representative of generally favorable environmental conditions. Simulated relative abundances of both snails and cercariae decreased with increasing environmental temperatures, with maximum snail abundances decreased by 14% and 27%, and maximum cercariae productions decreased by 8% and 17%, when temperatures were increased by 1 °C and 2 °C, respectively.ConclusionThe results indicate that future rise in temperature due to climate change may alter the abundance of B. globosus and impact on the prevalence of schistosomiasis. Furthermore, increased temperatures may not linearly influence the abundance of S. haematobium. These results may have important implications for schistosomiasis control programmes in view of temperature driven changes in the life history traits of B. globosus and S. haematobium. Our study recommends that the use of deterministic models incorporating the effects of temperature on the life history traits of IH snails would be vital in understanding the potential impact of climate change on schistosomiasis incidences and prevalence.

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“…Bulinus and Biomphalaria are the two best-studied gastropod genera in southern Africa because they are the aquatic intermediate hosts of human and bovine schistosomiasis (Rubaba et al, 2016). Although species of Biomphalaria commonly occur in temporary habitats in the Neotropical region (Paraense, 1996), this is rare for the African counterparts.…”

Section: Molluscamentioning

confidence: 99%

Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands

et al. 2018

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The role of snail aestivation in transmission of schistosomiasis in changing climatic conditions

Cited by 26 publications

References 60 publications

One stimulus-Two responses: Host and parasite life-history variation in response to environmental stress

One stimulus-Two responses: Host and parasite life-history variation in response to environmental stress

Simulation of population dynamics of Bulinus globosus: Effects of environmental temperature on production of Schistosoma haematobium cercariae

Deeper knowledge of shallow waters: reviewing the invertebrate fauna of southern African temporary wetlands

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