http://hdl.handle.net/1893/28 This community contains the ePrints and eTheses produced by Biological and Environmental Sciences staff and students. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 23:22:42 GMT 2026-10-02T23:22:42Z http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38344 Title: One Health insights into local transmission of zoonotic Schistosoma mattheei in southern Malawi Author(s): Juhász, Alexandra; Makaula, Peter; Cunningham, Lucas J; Nkolokosa, Clinton; Archer, John; Jones, Sam; Namacha, Gladys; Chammudzi, Priscilla; Mainga, Bright; Lally, David; Kayuni, Sekeleghe A; LaCourse, E James; O'Ferrall, Angus M; Musaya, Janelisa; Stothard, J Russell Abstract: Schistosoma mattheei is a zoonotic schistosome species in central and southern Africa and is of increasing public health concern in southern Malawi. To gain insight into its local transmission, we investigated the biology of Schistosoma mattheei in southern Malawi, integrating epidemiological, environmental and genetic data within a One Health framework. Cattle, goats, humans and snails were surveyed, with DNA barcoding revealing nine mitochondrial S. mattheei haplotypes. Two haplotypes were shared across species, indicating cross-host transmission. Infected snails were detected year-round, with seasonal variation linked to vegetation cover (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)). Praziquantel (40 mg kg−1) treatment in selected cattle herds reduced infection prevalence over 12 weeks. These findings highlight the zoonotic potential of S. mattheei and the need for integrated control strategies. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38344 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38343 Title: Revealing caprine schistosomiasis and its One Health importance in Malawi: A molecular epidemiological investigation augmented with a praziquantel treatment and GPS animal tracking pilot sub-study Author(s): Juhász, Alexandra; Makaula, Peter; Cunningham, Lucas J; Field, Lewis; Jones, Sam; Archer, John; Mainga, Bright; Lally, David; Namacha, Gladys; Kapira, Donales; Chammudzi, Priscilla; LaCourse, E James; Nkolokosa, Clinton; Seto, Edmund; Kayuni, Sekeleghe A Abstract: To shed first light on caprine schistosomiasis and its zoonotic potential in Malawi, we conducted a molecular epidemiological investigation, sampling goats (n = 230) across three districts, using faecal miracidia hatching test. Molecular genotyping of miracidia later revealed the prevalence of Schistosoma mattheei to be 0.0 % in Nsanje District (n = 30), 16.7 % in Chikwawa District (n = 30) and 25.3 % in Mangochi District (n = 170). Notably, a miracidium of Schistosoma haematobium was observed from a single goat in Chikwawa. Inspection of carcasses (n = 51) at two local abattoirs in Mangochi District did not find any evidence of caprine schistosomiasis where only a single herd, at Mangochi 3, was infected. Here, despite sampling several other herds nearby, the prevalence was 87.7 % (n = 49), with an animal found excreting 1000 miracidia per 5 g of faeces. At this location, our praziquantel treatment (n = 14) and GPS animal tracking (n = 2) pilot sub-study compared two local goat herds over a three-month period. The daily foraging ranges across a 10 km2 area were recorded, alongside targeted schistosome surveillance within local freshwater intermediate snail hosts. Analysis of GPS data revealed only one herd (infected) to have regular daily water contact with Lake Malawi whereas the other herd (not infected) totally avoided the lake. One week after praziquantel treatment administered at 40 mg/kg, anthelminthic cure rate was 92.3 % while at three months approximately a third of treated animals were shedding schistosome miracidia. Cercariae from several field-caught snails locally were genotyped, inclusive of finding a Schistosoma haematobium-mattheei hybrid. Our findings reveal the focalized nature of caprine schistosomiasis, signposting a novel alert for S. haematobium transmission, and highlight where zoonotic transmission can be intense. To better address zoonotic spill-over from S. mattheei (and/or S. haematobium), the national control programme for schistosomiasis should formally develop targeted surveillance of caprine schistosomiasis and where appropriate, attempt an integrated One Health intervention in future. Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38343 2024-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38342 Title: Tracking the spatial and longitudinal dynamics of mixed infections of urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis, inclusive of Schistosoma mattheei , in two sentinel rural communities from southern Malawi Author(s): Cunningham, Lucas J; Nkolokosa, Clinton; Risse, Marion; Makaula, Peter; Archer, John; Namacha, Gladys; Chammudzi, Priscilla; Kapira, Donales; Lally, David; Pau Ntaba, Bessie; Cowlishaw, Ruth; O'Ferrall, Angus M; Jones, Sam; Rollason, Sarah; Juhasz, Alexandra Abstract: The World Health Organization’s 2030 neglected tropical disease roadmap aims to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem with preventive chemotherapy (PC) as a foundational stratergy; however, mixed infections of Schistosoma haematobium with zoonotic species, inclusive of putative hybrids, present a potential challenge. We sought to address the importance of mixed species infections through a 2-year, longitudinal epidemiological investigation at two villages in southern Malawi (Samama and Mthawira). Participants (approx. 2000) were sampled at baseline (BL), a 12-month follow-up (FU1) and a 24-month follow-up (FU2). PC was provided annually (BL-FU1) and biannually (FU1–FU2). Urine samples underwent microscopical examination and circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) rapid-diagnostic testing, with egg-patent urine filters undergoing additional molecular screening for five non-S. haematobium species using real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR). Prevalence of schistosomiasis by microscopy was statistically higher in Samama than Mthawira (±0.0563, p-value = 1.3 × 10−11), as was mixed infections with Schistosoma mattheei, by rtPCR (± 0.17, p-value = 3.84 × 10−10). By FU2, PC reduced the prevalence of S. haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni, but that of S. mattheei remained relatively stable, rising by 0.98% at Samama (± 0.19, p-value = 0.41) and decreasing by 0.43% at Mthawira (± 0.39, p-value = 0.33). We conclude that treatment alone will not be sufficient for control of zoonotic S. mattheei, but additional interventions will be required. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38342 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38341 Title: Mapping and quantifying travel time to define health facility catchment areas in Blantyre city in Malawi Author(s): Kalonde, Patrick Ken; Tsoka, Owen; Chiepa, Blessings; Baluwa, Chifuniro; Nkolokosa, Clinton; Mategula, Donnie; Muthukrishnan, Suresh; Feasey, Nicholas; Henrion, Marc Y R; Stanton, Michelle C; Ray, Nicolas; Terlouw, Dianne Jannette; Longbottom, Joshua; Chirombo, James Abstract: Background Mapping health facility catchment areas is important for estimating the population that uses the health facility, as a denominator for capturing spatial patterns of disease burden across space. Mapping activities to generate catchment areas are expensive exercises and are often not repeated on a regular basis. Methods In this work, we demonstrated the generation of facility catchment areas in Blantyre, Malawi using crowdsourced road data and open-source mapping tools. We also observed travel speeds associated with different means of transportation were made in five randomly selected residential communities within Blantyre city. AccessMod version 5.8 was used to process the generated data to quantify travel time and catchment areas of health facilities in Blantyre city. Results When these catchments are compared with georeferenced patients originating communities (based on malaria records), an average of 90.3 percent of the patients come from communities within the generated catchments. Conclusions The study suggests that crowdsourced data resources can be used for the delineation of catchment areas and this information can confidently be used in efforts to stratify the burden of diseases such as malaria. Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38341 2025-06-11T00:00:00Z