Abstract：
Schistosomiasis is a snail-borne disease that has a considerable impact on human and animal health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The intermediate hosts of the schistosome parasites are freshwater snails of the genera Biomphalaria Preston, 1910 and Bulinus Müller, 1781. In order to identify existing gaps in the spread of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this study compiled the available knowledge of the distribution, population dynamics and ecology of the intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and Scopus for all malacological studies on schistosoma intermediate hosts in DRC published between 1927 and October 2022. A total of 55 records were found, of which 31 met the inclusion criteria: these were published field and experimental studies conducted in the DRC and focused on snails as intermediate hosts of schistosomes. The analysis of these studies revealed that more up-to-date data on the distribution of snail intermediate hosts in the DRC are needed. Moreover, ecological factors have been less studied for Bulinus species than for Biomphalaria species. These factors play a crucial role in determining suitable snail habitats, and the lack of comprehensive information poses a challenge in snail control. This review makes it clear that there are no current malacological data in the DRC. There is a clear need for molecular and ecological research to update the exact species status and population dynamics of all potential intermediate host species. This will facilitate targeted snail control measures that complement drug treatment in the control of schistosomiasis in the country.
摘要：
血吸虫病是一种蜗牛传播的疾病,对人和动物的健康有相当大的影响,特别是在撒哈拉以南非洲。血吸虫寄生虫的中间宿主是BiomphalariaPreston属的淡水蜗牛，1910年和BulinusMüller，1781.为了查明该疾病在刚果民主共和国传播方面的现有差距，这项研究汇编了现有的分布知识，血吸虫病中间宿主的种群动态和生态学。在PubMed进行了系统的文献检索，Embase和Scopus在1927年至2022年10月之间发表的关于刚果民主共和国血吸虫中间宿主的所有疟疾学研究。共发现55条记录,其中31项符合纳入标准：这些是在刚果民主共和国进行的现场和实验研究，重点是蜗牛作为血吸虫的中间宿主。对这些研究的分析表明，需要有关刚果民主共和国蜗牛中间宿主分布的更多最新数据。此外，与Biomphalaria物种相比，对Bulinus物种的生态因素研究较少。这些因素在确定合适的蜗牛栖息地中起着至关重要的作用，缺乏全面的信息对蜗牛控制提出了挑战。这篇评论清楚地表明，刚果民主共和国目前没有疟疾学数据。显然需要进行分子和生态研究，以更新所有潜在中间宿主物种的确切物种状况和种群动态。这将促进有针对性的蜗牛控制措施，以补充该国血吸虫病的药物治疗。
