Snail Fever may Decline in Africa due to Climate Change

A dangerous parasite found in Africa, known as Schistosoma mansoni that causes snail fever in humans, could become significantly less common in the future, according to a recent study led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen. Though previous studies suggest that climate change can create environments for disease and infection to foster, these findings suggest otherwise.

"Our research shows that the expected effects of climate change will lead to a reduction in suitable habitats for four out of five species of host snails for the parasite. According to our models, several areas will become too hot for the snails in the future and new precipitation patterns will affect the freshwater areas where they live," postdoc Anna -Sofie Stensgaard from the Danish National Research Foundation Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen said, via a news release. 

Background information from the study notes that the Schistosomiasis is an infectious disease that's caused by parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma.

The disease spreads in freshwater areas such as rivers and lakes. Freshwater snails living in these habitats act as an intermediate host for the parasite's larvae and. These creatures are carriers of the disease that infects human skin through penetration when in contact with the water.

As the snails habitat remains a highly important part of the transfer of the parasites, researchers found through studies of climate change scenarios that there would be up to a 19 percent reduction in the total geographical area of infection risk in Africa, based on the fact that the geographical distribution of the main host snail will be reduced significantly.

"Our results are consistent with the scientific view that climate change leads to lower biodiversity, but not that climate change necessarily leads to a greater spread of diseases", Anna -Sofie Stensgaard said, according to the release.

However, researchers caution that there may be some areas of Africa where the disease could spread. They even add that one of the host snails studied could actually benefit from climate change.

Yet at the end of the day, climate change may not be the most important factor for the spread of diseases such as nail fever. Both environmental and human-induced factors, such as man-made environmental changes, can affect the host life for these creatures. Ultimately, this could help or hurt other organisms and the life of certain disease and bacteria.

More information regarding the study can be found via here.