Cooling Ponds and Heated Industrial Waters as Potential Environments of Schistosomiasis in Britain

Abstract

An investigation was made to determine whether British species of freshwater snail can reproduce in warm water and become susceptible to infection by Schistosoma mansoni. Twenty-seven species were cultured at 20 and 26°C, and it was found that most of them could reproduce at these temperatures. Sixteen species were exposed at the same temperature to miracidia of S. mansoni of the Egyptian, Liberian and Puerto Rican strains; a cyst was found in A plexa hypnorum exposed to the Egyptian strain, which could be attributed as being a juvenile stage of a sporocyst, but no positive conclusions can be drawn.