Category Ranking
98%
Total Visits
921
Avg Visit Duration
2 minutes
Citations
20
Article Abstract
Control strategies to reduce human schistosomiasis have evolved from 'snail picking' campaigns, a century ago, to modern wide-scale human treatment campaigns, or preventive chemotherapy. Unfortunately, despite the rise in preventive chemotherapy campaigns, just as many people suffer from schistosomiasis today as they did 50 years ago. Snail control can complement preventive chemotherapy by reducing the risk of transmission from snails to humans. Here, we present ideas for modernizing and scaling up snail control, including spatiotemporal targeting, environmental diagnostics, better molluscicides, new technologies (e.g., gene drive), and 'outside the box' strategies such as natural enemies, traps, and repellants. We conclude that, to achieve the World Health Assembly's stated goal to eliminate schistosomiasis, it is time to give snail control another look.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5819334 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2017.10.002 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Ultrastructural Alterations in Melanopsis praemorsa (Linnaeus, 1758) (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia) Induced by Imidacloprid and the Protective Role of Ascorbic Acid.
J Appl Toxicol
September 2025
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid pesticide widely used for controlling agricultural pests, is known to exert toxic effects on non-target aquatic organisms. This study aimed to investigate the toxicological impact of imidacloprid and the potential protective effect of an antioxidant, ascorbic acid, in the freshwater snail Melanopsis praemorsa. Eight experimental groups were established: two controls; three groups exposed to imidacloprid at concentrations of 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStocking African catfish in Lake Victoria provides effective biocontrol of snail vectors of Schistosoma mansoni.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
September 2025
Pelagic Ecology Research Group, School of Biology, Gatty Marine Laboratory, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom.
In areas of high infection prevalence, effective control of schistosomiasis - one of the most important Neglected Tropical Diseases - requires supplementing medical treatment with interventions targeted at the environmental reservoir of disease. In addition to provision of clean water, reliable sanitation, and molluscicide use to control the obligate intermediate host snail, top-down biological control of parasite-competent snails has recently gained increasing interest in the scientific community. However, evidence that natural predators can effectively reduce snail abundance and, ultimately, transmission risk to vulnerable human populations remains limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffects of antidepressant exposures on a stream detrital food chain: Microbial decomposers and invertebrate detritivores.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
August 2025
Henan Province Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Rehabilitation Technology, Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China.
Antidepressants are often found in freshwater ecosystems, yet their potential impacts on ecological processes and species interactions remain poorly understood. This study assessed the ecological influence of fluoxetine and amitriptyline at environmentally realistic levels (1-100 ng L) on a detritus-based food chain that encompasses microbial decomposers and freshwater snails. In the experiment, we monitored the responses of microbial decomposers (biomass and enzyme activity), and Cipangopaludina cathayensis (consumption rates and antioxidant capacity), as well as leaf litter traits (decomposition rate and nutrient content).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredicting current habitat suitability for intermediate snail hosts of urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis in the Lower Shire Valley floodplain of southern Malawi.
Parasit Vectors
August 2025
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK.
Background: Relating the geographical distribution of intermediate freshwater snail hosts (viz. vectors of schistosomes) to local environmental attributes offers value for understanding the epidemiological landscape of schistosomiasis transmission in a changing aquatic environment. Schistosomiasis-both urogenital and intestinal-causes significant human suffering, affecting approximately 240 million people globally and grouped within the neglected tropical disease (NTD) umbrella.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBenzalkonium Chloride Significantly Improves Environmental DNA Detection from Schistosomiasis Snail Vectors in Freshwater Samples.
Trop Med Infect Dis
July 2025
Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia, Av. Vicente Andrés Estellés s/n, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
Urogenital schistosomiasis, caused by and transmitted by snails, affects approximately 190 million individuals globally and remains a major public health concern. Effective surveillance of snail vectors is critical for disease control, but traditional identification methods are time-intensive and require specialized expertise. Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection using qPCR has emerged as a promising alternative for large-scale vector surveillance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF