New location for <em>Bulinus truncatus</em> (Audouin, 1827) (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) intermediate host of <em>Schistosoma haematobium</em> and its distribution in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

This paper reports a new population of Bulinus truncatus (Audouin, 1827) (Gastropoda, Planorbidae) found in the province of Almería (Southeast Spain). B. truncatus is an intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium, the trematode which causes urinary schistosomiasis in humans. Individuals were identified to species level by double-nested PCR, resulting in 100% homology. This population is located under the driest climate conditions of the Iberian Peninsula. Data on the distribution of this species in the Iberian Peninsula was gathered and is provided in this paper. Improved knowledge of the distribution of Bulinus truncatus is key to assess the risk of new outbreaks of schistosomiasis in the Iberian Peninsula.

Schistosomahaematobium and Urogenital Disorders

“…Schistosoma mansoni recorded in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Brazil, Venezuela, and Suriname Concerning Europe, we are in the presence of a re-introduction of this disease, since it had been recorded in Portugal, where several foci had occurred in Algarve-Southern Portugal [2,3] Still in Europe, the record of new localization of intermediate hosts of S. haematobium can be a risk of expansion of this parasite in European continent [4,5]. S. haematobium is a blood fluke and part of its development occurs within freshwater snails (intermediate hosts) and the diseases is contracted when cercariae larvae (infectant stage for humans) are liberated from the snails and penetrate the skin of anyone that is in contact with infected water (bath, domestic activities, fishing, etc.,).…”