Experimental Evaluation of the Potential of Rotifers to Control Snail Intermediate Hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium
1 EMR MINES: Maladies Infectieuses, Négligées et Émergentes au Sud, Aix Marseille Université, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 13005 Marseille, France; (D.S.); (C.S.)
2 EMR MINES: Maladies Infectieuses, Négligées et Émergentes au Sud, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Campus International Institut de Recherche pour le Développement-Université-Cheikh Anta Diop of Hann, Dakar BP 1386, Senegal; (B.S.); (M.A.D.); (M.D.); (A.N.W.)
3 Department of Parasitology-Mycology, Unité de Formation et de Recherche des Sciences de la Santé, Université Gaston Berger, Saint-Louis BP 234, Senegal;
4 Centre de Recherche sur les Maladies Tropicales Négligées, Saint-Louis BP 234, Senegal
5 Pôle Immunophysiopathologie et Maladies Infectieuses, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Dakar BP 220, Senegal
6 Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Université-Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar BP 5005, Senegal
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 19 Oct 2025 / Accepted: 3 Feb 2026 / Published: 12 Mar 2026
Abstract
This study focuses on an experimental evaluation of the potential of rotifers to control snail intermediate hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium. Background. Biological molluscicides could represent a breakthrough for the sustainable control of snail intermediate hosts of schistosomes. This study evaluated the impact of rotifers on Biomphalaria and Bulinus snails in controlled conditions. Methodology. The impact of rotifers was assessed on Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Biomphalaria glabrata, Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus senegalensis, and Bulinus globosus. For each snail species, a group of 15 juvenile and 15 adult individuals were exposed separately to rotifers. For each condition, a control group of unexposed snails was set up. Snail shell size, egg-laying capacity, and mortality were monitored in each condition. Results. After 37 days, a decrease in egg production was observed in all snail species, although this was only significant with Bi. glabrata (p = 0.0017). Egg production was inhibited in juveniles Bi. glabrata and Bi. pfeiffeiri exposed to rotifers, while 57 and 27 egg masses were observed in their counterparts. Regardless the species and age, rotifers hampered the viability of eggs. After 50 days, growth delay was observed in all species, with a significant impact on Bi. glabrata (p = 0.001), which had an average size of 9.5 mm and 6.4 mm in unexposed adults and juveniles compared to 6.24 mm and 3.94 mm in exposed individuals. The exposure to rotifers did not cause excess mortality in any of the snail species after 40 days. Conclusions. Significant life traits of snails were altered by exposure to rotifers. Further studies are needed to better understand snail/rotifer interactions and the possibilities this would offer for malacological control.
Keywords: schistosomiasis; ; ; rotifers; biological control
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CITE
Sy, D.; Sow, D.; Senghor, B.; Diallo, M.A.; Diop, M.; Wotodjo, A.N.; Sokhna, C.; Doucoure, S. Experimental Evaluation of the Potential of Rotifers to Control Snail Intermediate Hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium. AJPME 2026, 3, 9.
Sy D, Sow D, Senghor B, Diallo MA, Diop M, Wotodjo AN, Sokhna C, Doucoure S. Experimental Evaluation of the Potential of Rotifers to Control Snail Intermediate Hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium. AJPME. 2026; 3(2):9.
Sy, Diara; Sow, Doudou; Senghor, Bruno; Diallo, Mamadou Aliou; Diop, Malick; Wotodjo, Amele Nyedzie; Sokhna, Cheikh; Doucoure, Souleymane. 2026. "Experimental Evaluation of the Potential of Rotifers to Control Snail Intermediate Hosts of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium." AJPME 3, no. 2: 9.
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