Observations on an isolate ofSchistosoma bovis from Tanzania

Abstract

The eggs ofSchistosoma bovis isolated from Misungwi, Tanzania measure 211.1 μm±18.4 long and 66.7 μm±5.4 wide. The parasite is naturally transmitted byBulinus africanus and is compatible in the laboratory with snails belonging to theB. truncatus, B. forskali, andB. reticulatus groups. The compatibility withB. africanus group snails is shared with isolates from Kenya and Sudan but not withS. bovis from more northern distributions. Enzyme analyses were carried out by isoelectric focusing. In adult worms, phosphoglucomutase (PGM), hexokinase (HK), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) proved to be monomorphic whereas two types of glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI), three types of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and two types of acid phosphatase (AcP) were identified. Differences in the pI values of GPI and MDH of snail digestive glands and of larval parasites allowed the intramolluscan stages to be characterised. The GPI heterogeneity encountered was common both to the larval and adult parasites. The enzyme types identified inS. bovis are discussed both from an intra- and interspecific viewpoint.