Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-18T07:43:50.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Transmission of Schistosoma mansoni from man to snail: laboratory studies on the influence of snail and miracidial densities on transmission success

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

N. P. Carter
Affiliation:
Biology Department, University of York, Heslington, York, Y01 5DD
R. M. Anderson
Affiliation:
Department of Pure and Applied Biology, Imperial College, London University, London SW7 2BB
R. A. Wilson
Affiliation:
Biology Department, University of York, Heslington, York, Y01 5DD

Summary

The relationship between infection success, the density of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia and the density of the snail host Biomphalaria glabrata was examined experimentally. Within laboratory infection arenas, the distribution of miracidial infections/snail was approximately uniform and the net rate of snail infection was directly positive binomial to miracidial density. In contrast, however, the rate of infection declined exponentially as snail density increased. Mathematical models are developed to aid in the estimation of infection rates and experimental results are discussed in the context of the transmission dynamics of schistosomiasis.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, R. M. (1978). Population dynamics of snail infection by miracidia. Parasitology 77, 201–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. M. (1982). Epidemiology of infectious disease agents. In Modern Parasitology (ed. Cox, F. E. G.). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Anderson, R. M. & May, R. M. (1979). Population biology of infectious diseases. Part I. Nature, London 280, 361–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, R. M., Mercer, J., Wilson, R. A. & Carter, N. P. (1982). Transmission of Schistosoma mansoni from man to snail: experimental studies of miracidial survival and infectivity in relation to larval age, water temperature, host size and host age. Parasitology 85, 339–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, N. T. J. (1975). The Mathematical Theory of Infectious Diseases and its Application, 2nd ed.London: Griffin.Google Scholar
Bliss, C. A. & Fisher, R. A. (1953). Fitting the negative binomial distribution to biological data and a note on the efficient fitting of the negative binomial. Biometrics 9, 176200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, N. P. (1978). The host location mechanisms of the miracidium and cercaria of Schistosoma mansoni. D.Phil. thesis, University of York.Google Scholar
Chernin, E. (1970). Behavioural responses of miracidia of Schistosoma mansoni and other trematodes to substances emitted by snails. Journal of Parasitology 56, 287–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chernin, E. (1974). Some host-finding attributes of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 23, 320–7.Google ScholarPubMed
Chernin, E. & Dunavan, C. A. (1962). The influence of host–parasite dispersion upon the capacity of Schistosoma mansoni to infect Australorbis glabratus. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 11, 455–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chu, K. Y., Sabbaghian, H. & Massoud, J. (1966). Host–parasite relationship of Bulinus truncatus and Schistosoma haematobium in Iran. 2. Effect of exposure dosage of miracidia on the biology of the snail host and the development of the parasite. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 34, 121–30.Google Scholar
Coulson, J. M. & Richardson, J. F. (1964). Chemical Engineering. London: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Kinoti, G. (1968). Observations of the infection of Bulinid snails with Schistosoma matthei. I. The susceptibility of Bulinus truncatus and Bulinus africanus. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 62, 382–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lim, H. & Heyneman, D. (1962). Intramolluscan inter-trematode antagonism: a review of factors influencing the host–parasite system and its possible role in biological control. Advances in Parasitology 10, 191268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macdonald, G. (1965). The dynamics of helminth infections with special reference to schistosomes. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 59, 489506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mason, P. R. (1977). Stimulation of the activity of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia by snail-conditioned water. Parasitology 75, 325–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
May, R. M. (1977). Togetherness among schistosomes: its effects on the dynamics of the infection. Mathematical Biosciences 35, 301–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasell, I. & Hirsch, W. M. (1973). The transmission dynamics of schistosomiasis. Communications in Pure and Applied Mathematics 26, 395453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schreiber, F. G. & Schubert, M. (1949 a). Results of exposure of the snail Australorbis glabratus to varying numbers of miracidia of Schistosoma mansoni. Journal of Parasitology 35, 590–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schreiber, F. G. & Schubert, M. (1949 b). Experimental infection of the snail Australorbis glabratus with the trematode Schistosoma mansoni and the production of cercariae. Journal of Parasitology 35, 91100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shiff, C. J. & Kriel, R. L. (1970). A water-soluble product of Bulinus (Physopsis) globosus attractive to Schistosoma haematobium miracidia. Journal of Parasitology 56, 281–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wright, C. A. (1966). Miracidial responses to molluscan stimuli. Proceedings of the 1st International Congress of Parasitology, 2. 1058–9.Google Scholar