IMPORTANCE OF THE AQUATIC WEED CERATOPHYLLUM TO TRANSMISSION OF SCHISTOSOMA-HAEMATOBIUM IN THE VOLTA LAKE, GHANA

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 58  (5) , 791-798
Abstract
Results of 5 yr of sampling for Bulinus rohlfsi in human-water contact sites of villages along the Volta Lake, Ghana, have confirmed that the aquatic macrophyte, Ceratophyllum, is the most important ecological factor for sustaining high levels of cercarial transmission of S. haematobium. Data available so far indicate that growth of this weed largely determines the size of the snail populations. Increasing density of Ceratophyllum correlates with increasing levels of cercarial transmission potential in the water contact sites and of S. haematobium infection in the village populations.