What is the difference between the male and female Schistosoma?

What is the difference between the male and female Schistosoma?

Adult flukes are elongate tubular worms (10-20mm long), with rudimentary oral and ventral suckers. Males are shorter and stouter than females, and they have a longitudinal cleft (gynecophoral canal or schist) in which the longer slender female lies folded.

How do Schistosoma mansoni reproduce?

Schistosomes reproduce asexually in freshwater snails; a larval form, the cercaria, is released from the snail and can burrow into the skin of the definitive host, man. In humans, schistosomes migrate to the bloodstream where they mature into adult worms.

What animal is important in the reproductive cycle of Schistosoma mansoni?

S. mansoni infects snails of the genus Biomphalaria. After infiltration, the miracidium removes the ciliated plates, develops into a mother sporocyst, and then produces daughter sporocysts.

What animals are affected by schistosomiasis?

Biology

  • Causal Agents. Schistosomiasis (Bilharziasis) is caused by some species of blood trematodes (flukes) in the genus Schistosoma.
  • Life Cycle. View Larger.
  • Hosts. Various animals such as cattle, dogs, cats, rodents, pigs, horses, and goats, serve as reservoirs for S.
  • Geographic Distribution.

What are the characteristics of Schistosoma mansoni?

Schistosoma mansoni eggs are large (114 to 180 µm long by 45-70 µm wide) and have a characteristic shape, with a prominent lateral spine near the posterior end. The anterior end is tapered and slightly curved. When the eggs are excreted in stool, they contain a mature miracidium.

How do you identify mansoni Schistosoma?

Schistosomiasis is diagnosed through the detection of parasite eggs in stool or urine specimens. Antibodies and/or antigens detected in blood or urine samples are also indications of infection.

What is the primary host of Schistosoma mansoni?

The life cycle of schistosomes includes two hosts: humans as definitive hosts, where the parasite undergoes sexual reproduction, and snails as intermediate hosts, where a series of asexual reproductive takes place.

What does Schistosoma mansoni cause?

Children who are repeatedly infected can develop anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties. After years of infection, the parasite can also damage the liver, intestine, lungs, and bladder. Rarely, eggs are found in the brain or spinal cord and can cause seizures, paralysis, or spinal cord inflammation.

What is the infective stage of Schistosoma to man?

The stages in the snail include two generations of sporocysts and the production of cercariae. Upon release from the snail, the infective cercariae swim and penetrate the skin of the human host, where maturation of the worms continues.

Can schistosomiasis affect animals?

Schistosomiasis is a common parasitic infection in cattle and rarely in other domestic animals in Africa and Asia. Although schistosomes may act as important pathogens under rare conditions favoring intensive transmission, most infections in endemic areas are subclinical.

Where does Schistosoma mansoni live?

Schistosoma mansoni is a water-borne parasite of humans, and belongs to the group of blood flukes (Schistosoma). The adult lives in the blood vessels (mesenteric veins) near the human intestine.

Is Schistosoma mansoni a helminth?

As of 2021, the World Health Organization reports that 236.6 million people have schistosomiasis and most of it is due to S. mansoni. It is found in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname….

Schistosoma mansoni
Species: S. mansoni
Binomial name
Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907

Which is larger a male or female Schistosoma mansoni?

Schistosoma mansoni is dioecious and sexually dimorphic. The adult male (up to 10 mm in length) is more robust than the female and possesses a body groove called a gynaecophoral canal. The female, which is longer and more slender than the male (up to 10 to 14 mm in length), is held within the groove of the male.

Where does schostosoma mansoni live in the body?

Adults of Schostosoma mansoni live in mesenteric veins which drain the intestine of the host. The female will generally move to smaller venules before depositing her eggs. The enclosed miracidium is under-developed at time of oviposition, but will be well-formed before reaching the lumen of an infected organ.

What kind of animal can you get schistosomiasis from?

Various animals such as cattle, dogs, cats, rodents, pigs, horses, and goats, serve as reservoirs for S. japonicum, and dogs for S. mekongi. S. mansoni is also frequently recovered from wild primates in endemic areas but is considered primarily a human parasite and not a zoonosis.

How long does a Schistosoma mansoni live in a snail?

Lifespan/Longevity. Once a schistosome enters the snail intermediate host, development requires 3 to 4 weeks on average. In the human host, the organism will generally live another 7 to 8 weeks. On average, Scistosoma mansoni lives about 80 days.