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Agrochemical pollution increases risk of human exposure to schistosome parasites

Neal T. Halstead, Christopher M. Hoover, Arathi Arakala, David J. Civitello, Giulio A. De Leo, Manoj Gambhir, Steve A. Johnson, Kristin A. Loerns, Taegan A. McMahon, Karena Nguyen, Thomas R. Raffel, Justin V. Remais, Susanne H. Sokolow, Jason R. Rohr
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/161901
Neal T. Halstead
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
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  • For correspondence: neal.halstead@gmail.com.
Christopher M. Hoover
2Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720
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Arathi Arakala
3Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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David J. Civitello
4Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322
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Giulio A. De Leo
5Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950
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Manoj Gambhir
3Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
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Steve A. Johnson
6Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
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Kristin A. Loerns
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
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Taegan A. McMahon
7Department of Biology, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL 33606
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Karena Nguyen
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
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Thomas R. Raffel
8Department of Biological Sciences, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309
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Justin V. Remais
2Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720
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Susanne H. Sokolow
5Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, 93950
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Jason R. Rohr
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
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Summary

Roughly 10% of the global population is at risk of schistosomiasis, a snail-borne parasitic disease that ranks among the most important water-based diseases of humans in developing countries1–3. Increased prevalence, infection intensity, and spread of human schistosomiasis to non-endemic areas has been consistently linked with water resource management related to agricultural expansion, such as dam construction, which has resulted in increased snail habitat1,4–6. However, the role of agrochemical pollution in human schistosome transmission remains unexplored, despite strong evidence of agrochemicals increasing snail-borne diseases of wildlife7–9 and a projected 2- to 5-fold increase in global agrochemical use by 205010 that will disproportionately occur in schistosome-endemic regions. Using a field mesocosm experiment, we show that environmentally relevant concentrations of fertilizer, the common herbicide atrazine, and the common insecticide chlorpyrifos, individually and as mixtures, increase densities of schistosome-infected snails by increasing the algae snails eat (fertilizer and atrazine) and decreasing densities of snail predators (chlorpyrifos). Epidemiological models indicate that these agrochemical effects can increase transmission of schistosomiasis. Hence, the rapid agricultural changes occurring in schistosome-endemic regions11,12 that are driving increased agrochemical use and pollution could potentially increase the burden of schistosomiasis in these areas. Identifying agricultural practices or agrochemicals that minimize disease risk will be critical to meeting growing food demands while improving human wellbeing13,14.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted July 11, 2017.
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Agrochemical pollution increases risk of human exposure to schistosome parasites
Neal T. Halstead, Christopher M. Hoover, Arathi Arakala, David J. Civitello, Giulio A. De Leo, Manoj Gambhir, Steve A. Johnson, Kristin A. Loerns, Taegan A. McMahon, Karena Nguyen, Thomas R. Raffel, Justin V. Remais, Susanne H. Sokolow, Jason R. Rohr
bioRxiv 161901; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/161901
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Agrochemical pollution increases risk of human exposure to schistosome parasites
Neal T. Halstead, Christopher M. Hoover, Arathi Arakala, David J. Civitello, Giulio A. De Leo, Manoj Gambhir, Steve A. Johnson, Kristin A. Loerns, Taegan A. McMahon, Karena Nguyen, Thomas R. Raffel, Justin V. Remais, Susanne H. Sokolow, Jason R. Rohr
bioRxiv 161901; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/161901

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