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Agrochemicals Increase Risk of Human Schistosomiasis by Supporting Higher Densities of Intermediate Hosts
Nature Communications
  • Neal T. Halstead, University of South Florida
  • Christopher M. Hoover, University of California
  • Arathi Arakala, Monash University
  • David J. Civitello, Emory University
  • Guilio A. De Leo, Stanford University
  • Manoj Gambhir, Monash University
  • Steve A. Johnson, University of Florida
  • Nicolas Jouanard, Centre de Recherche Biomédicale Espoir pour la Santé
  • Kristin A. Loerns, University of South Florida
  • Karena Nguyen, University of South Florida
  • Jason R. Rohr, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2018
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03189-w
Disciplines
Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a snail-borne parasitic disease that ranks among the most important water-based diseases of humans in developing countries. Increased prevalence and spread of human schistosomiasis to non-endemic areas has been consistently linked with water resource management related to agricultural expansion. However, the role of agrochemical pollution in human schistosome transmission remains unexplored, despite strong evidence of agrochemicals increasing snail-borne diseases of wildlife and a projected 2- to 5-fold increase in global agrochemical use by 2050. Using a field mesocosm experiment, we show that environmentally relevant concentrations of fertilizer, a herbicide, and an insecticide, individually and as mixtures, increase densities of schistosome-infected snails by increasing the algae snails eat and decreasing densities of snail predators. Epidemiological models indicate that these agrochemical effects can increase transmission of schistosomes. Identifying agricultural practices or agrochemicals that minimize disease risk will be critical to meeting growing food demands while improving human wellbeing.

Comments

Comlete list of authors: Taegan A. McMahon, Raphael A. Ndione, Thomas R. Raffel, Justin V. Remais, Gilles Riveau, Susanne H. Sokolow

Rights Information
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Citation / Publisher Attribution

Nature Communications, v. 9, art. 837

Citation Information
Neal T. Halstead, Christopher M. Hoover, Arathi Arakala, David J. Civitello, et al.. "Agrochemicals Increase Risk of Human Schistosomiasis by Supporting Higher Densities of Intermediate Hosts" Nature Communications Vol. 9 (2018)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jason_rohr/7/