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Two species of Biomphalaria are reported from Egypt, the indigenous Biomphalaria alexandrina and Biomphalaria glabrata, the latter believed to be introduced during the past few decades. Both are known to be excellent hosts of Schistosoma mansoni, the human-infecting blood fluke common in Egypt. Given the concerns regarding the spread of the exotic B. glabrata, this study was carried out to get a more current picture of the status of Biomphalaria in Egypt. Snail collections were undertaken during 2002–2003 from regions between Alexandria and Ismailia in the north of the Nile Delta, to as far south as Abu Simbel at Lake Nasser. Biomphalaria snails were found in 37 out of 76 sampled localities and were widely distributed in the Nile Delta and along the Nile as far south as Aswan. According to the results of species-specific polymerase chain reaction assays that sampled both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, and according to DNA sequence data, all Biomphalaria collected during this survey were B. alexandrina. There was no evidence of the presence of B. glabrata or of hybridization of B. alexandrina with B. glabrata in the examined sites. The results were surprising given that some field-collected snails strongly resembled B. glabrata in both size and conchology and that previous survey work suggested B. glabrata had established in Egypt. Continued scrutiny to ascertain the possible presence of B. glabrata in Egypt is warranted. Also, the planorbid Helisoma duryi was detected in the Delta and as far south as Aswan, so it is important for Egyptian schistosomiasis workers to accurately distinguish this non-schistosome-transmitting snail from Biomphalaria.
Received September 17, 2004. Accepted for publication January 21, 2005.
Acknowledgments: Sincere thanks are given to Prof. Dr. Fouad Yousif (Department of Environmental Researches and Medical Malacology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute) for his kind assistance during the fieldwork and for supplying us with the laboratory reference stocks of B. alexandrina and B. glabrata. Special thanks are given to Ms. Brandee S. Black (Department of Biology, University of New Mexico) for her contribution to the laboratory activities of this work and to Mr. Mike T. Friggens (Department of Biology, University of New Mexico) for creating the map of Egypt. The authors thank also the staff of the Snail Control Section, Ministry of Health and Population, Egypt, for their help in the field and the Molecular Biology Facility at the University of New Mexico for their valuable assistance during the laboratory studies.
Financial support: This work was supported by the U.S-Egypt Joint Science and Technology Board, grant no. BIO6-002-017.
* Address correspondence to Eric S. Loker, Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001. E-mail: esloker{at}unm.edu
Authors’ addresses: Wael M. Lotfy, Parasitology Department, Medical Research Institute, 165 El-Horreya Avenue, El-Hadara, Alexandria, Egypt, E-mail: waelotfy{at}hotmail.com. Randall J. DeJong, Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001, E-mail: rjdejong{at}unm.edu. Dr. Ahmed Abdel-Kader, Department of Environmental Researches and Medical Malacology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), P.O. Box 30, Imbaba, Giza, Egypt, E-mail: abdelkaderahawary{at}yahoo.com. Eric S. Loker, Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001, E-mail: esloker{at}unm.edu.
Reprint requests: Eric S. Loker, Department of Biology, MSC03 2020, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131-0001, Telephone: 505-277-2496 or 9740, Fax: 505-277-0304, E-mail: esloker{at}unm.edu.
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