Long-term dynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni among Rattus rattus in patchy environment
SUMMARY Dynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni were studied during 8 consecutive years among Rattus rattus populations from 8 transmission sites of the marshy forest focus of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The schistosome population is over-dispersed ( k = 0·119) within the murine...
Published in: | Parasitology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1992
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182000061734 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0031182000061734 |
Summary: | SUMMARY Dynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni were studied during 8 consecutive years among Rattus rattus populations from 8 transmission sites of the marshy forest focus of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The schistosome population is over-dispersed ( k = 0·119) within the murine hosts and ecological factors linked to the patchy environment may be responsible for such aggregated distribution. Analysis of the spatio-temporal variations in prevalences, intensities and abundances showed limited variations of the infection during the 8 years at the level of the whole parasite population but great spatial heterogeneity at the level of local schistosome populations. Inter-populational genetic variability linked to the degree of adaptation of this human parasite to the murine host may explain differences in transmission dynamics between the local populations of S. mansoni . |
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