Schistosoma mansoni: on the possibility of Indian buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) being experimentally infected

Abstract

Male Indian buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves were submitted to Schistosoma mansoni infection by percutaneous, oral and subcutaneous routes. No worms or eggs were found in four of the animals tested. Bubalus bubalis appears to be refractory for S. mansoni.

Distribution and Schistosoma mansoni infection of Biomphalaria glabrata in different habitats in a rural area in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil: environmental and epidemiological aspects

“…The presence of S. mansoni-infected snails at sites used exclusively by cattle or non-contact sites may be due either to transport of cercariae downstream from established human contact sites, incidental human contact away from sites, or contamination by possibly infected cattle, although the role of cattle in transmission still needs to be determined in the study area. Several laboratory studies and field trials in Brazil and in Venezuela found cattle to serve as reservoir hosts of S. mansoni (Coelho et al 1982, 1989, Modena et al 1991, Mott et al 1995. The limestone geology, climate, and physical and biotic factors operating at the micro-habitat level, may account for the observed distribution of B. glabrata seasonally and among habitats in Virgem das Graças.…”