{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T21:52:35Z","timestamp":1773957155418,"version":"3.50.1"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014031","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773878400000}}],"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772496000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100011099","name":"Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00c3\u00bcr Internationale Zusammenarbeit","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["81270413"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["81270413"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100011099","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Placental schistosomiasis (PS) is underdiagnosed and may compromise maternal and neonatal health. This study estimated the prevalence of PS in a rural Gabonese population of pregnant women with confirmed\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection using light microscopy of macerated placental tissue.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This is a cross-sectional, diagnostic proof-of-concept study which applied an improved placenta maceration technique in real-world conditions to diagnose PS. Performing light microscopic assessment of a single sample of 10\u2009mL urine, we screened pregnant women for\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection who sought antenatal care in Lambar\u00e9n\u00e9 (Gabon) between January 2022 and January 2023. Women positive for\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection were followed up until delivery. Additionally, a subsample of women with negative urine samples was recruited as a non-infected control group (1:1 ratio infected and non-infected groups) and followed up until delivery. Only participants with available macerated placental samples were considered for final analysis. Placental samples were subjected to light-microscopy-based screening for\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      eggs and PS was considered present if a least one\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      egg was detected. Positive light microscopic placental samples were confirmed by qPCR.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among 318 women screened for\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      in urine, we found 40 (12.6%; 95% CI: 9.1-16.7%) to be positive. Together with 40 women in the non-infected control group all women were followed up until delivery. After loss-to-follow-up, 28 (70%; 28\/40) women with\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection and 20 (50%; 20\/40) without infection provided placenta samples at delivery. In the group with\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection, 14% (4\/28; 95% CI: 4.0-32.7%) of women were positive for\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      eggs in macerated placenta tissue. In the non-infected control group, one woman (5%; 1\/20; 95% CI: 0.1-24.9%) had a positive microscopy result for PS. All five women with positive\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      egg microscopy in placental tissue received a concordant qPCR result.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      14% of women with\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection also had PS. Notably, PS was also observed in 5% of women without detectable\n                      <jats:italic>S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      eggs in urine. This suggests that PS could be an underestimated phenomenon in highly endemic regions and warrants further investigations of its implications for mother-and-child health.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014031","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T18:31:51Z","timestamp":1772562711000},"page":"e0014031","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The underestimated burden of placental schistosomiasis in endemic regions: Findings from a cross-sectional, diagnostic proof-of-concept study on placental schistosomiasis in Gabon"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-0027-0715","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Saskia Dede","family":"Davi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dearie Glory","family":"Okwu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yabo Josiane","family":"Honkpehedji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pia","family":"Michelitsch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lillian Rene","family":"Endamne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jacob","family":"Gerstenberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Josephine","family":"Mischlinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rella","family":"Zoleko-Manego","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paul Alvyn","family":"Nguema-Moure","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ayola Akim","family":"Adegnika","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Egbert","family":"Tannich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefan","family":"Lueth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martha","family":"Holtfreter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dennis","family":"Tappe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ghyslain","family":"Mombo-Ngoma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Ramharter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Benjamin Thomas","family":"Schleenvoigt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2012-6327","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Johannes","family":"Mischlinger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pntd.0014031.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1038\/s41572-018-0013-8","article-title":"Schistosomiasis","volume":"4","author":"DP McManus","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Primers"},{"issue":"4","key":"pntd.0014031.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0007951","article-title":"Schistosome migration in the definitive host","volume":"14","author":"CS Nation","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"issue":"2","key":"pntd.0014031.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.1948.s1-28.175","article-title":"An inquiry into the ectopic lesions in schistosomiasis","volume":"28","author":"EC Faust","year":"1948","journal-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg"},{"key":"pntd.0014031.ref004","first-page":"76","article-title":"Placental bilharziasis","volume":"10","author":"JC Sutherland","year":"1965","journal-title":"SA Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology"},{"key":"pntd.0014031.ref005","first-page":"113","article-title":"Placental schistosomiasis","volume":"3","author":"AL Bittencourt","year":"1969","journal-title":"Gazeta M\u00e9dica da Bahia"},{"key":"pntd.0014031.ref006","first-page":"273","article-title":"Placentite esquistosom\u00f3tica","volume":"85","author":"MG Viggiano","year":"1978","journal-title":"J Bras Ginecol"},{"issue":"4","key":"pntd.0014031.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"571","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.1980.29.571","article-title":"Placental involvement in schistosomiasis mansoni. 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