{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T13:10:27Z","timestamp":1780578627103,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,28]],"date-time":"2022-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1664323200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD), remains a public health problem in Ethiopia. Freshwater snails, acting as intermediate hosts, release cercariae, the infectious parasite, into the water, which penetrate human skin that encounters infested waters. The objective of this study was to map snail abundance along rivers and study its association with schistosomiasis infection in communities using these rivers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at 20 river sites in Mizan Aman city administration, Bench Sheko zone, South West Ethiopia Peoples (SWEP) region, Ethiopia, to study the distribution of host snails and transmission sites for intestinal schistosomiasis. This study used a quantitative database consisting of data on the prevalence of infected snails, the characteristics of rivers and riverbanks, and the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the community, based on stool samples collected from community members near the sampling sites. Results: Aquatic snails were found in 11 of the 20 sites sampled. A total of 598 snails was collected, including Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Biomphalaria sudanica, Radix natalensis and Bulinus globosus species; the most abundant species was Biomphalaria pfeifferi. Stool samples were collected from 206 community members from all 20 sites. Forty-one (19.9%) were positive for Schistosoma mansoni. A positive correlation was found between the presence of snails and positive stool samples (r = 0.60, p = 0.05) and between the presence of infected snails and the prevalence of infection (r = 0.64, p = 0.03). Locations with muddy riverbanks were associated with the presence of snails (r = 0.81, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: These results emphasize the importance of mapping snails for the control of schistosomiasis by defining hotspots of infection and identifying factors associated with the presence of infected snails. The results support the need for a continuous mapping of snails and the introduction of snail control as a major element for the successful control of schistosomiasis in endemic communities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed7100272","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,29]],"date-time":"2022-09-29T01:23:16Z","timestamp":1664414596000},"page":"272","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Schistosomiasis Control in Ethiopia: The Role of Snail Mapping in Endemic Communities"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Asrat","family":"Meleko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Public Health, Mizan Tepi University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tepi 5160, Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8721-8448","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Population Health, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dorin Brener","family":"Turgeman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michal","family":"Bruck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nisan Z.","family":"Kesete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Willemijn","family":"Zaadnoordijk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ares Trading S.A., 1262 Eysins, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Rollinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK"},{"name":"Global Schistosomiasis Alliance, London W5 2RJ, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Galia","family":"Sabar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Department of Middle Eastern and African History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo P.O. Box 39040, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9121-2310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zvi","family":"Bentwich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"},{"name":"Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva P.O. Box 653, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9528-5701","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rachel","family":"Golan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NALA, Carlebach 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo 6713224, Israel"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Community Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva P.O. Box 653, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoinf.2018.04.002","article-title":"Habitat suitability modelling for predicting potential habitats of freshwater snail intermediate hosts in Omo-Gibe river basin, Southwest Ethiopia","volume":"45","author":"Yigezu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Ecol. Inform."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1186\/s40794-020-00127-x","article-title":"Prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni infection in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"7","author":"Hussen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trop. Dis. Travel Med. Vaccines"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2022, April 01). Schistosomiasis. 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