UNRAVELING THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM GROUP AND BULINUS SNAILS IN AND AROUND LAKE VICTORIA IN WEST KENYA

Schistosoma haematobium, the agent of urogenital schistosomiasis, and related schistosomes are transmitted by members of the genus Bulinus. Each of the 38 Bulinus species vary in their ability to vector schistosome species and non-schistosome trematodes resulting in a patchwork of snail-parasite compatibilities. Accurately identifying snail intermediate hosts and the disease- causing parasites they transmit is critical for snail control strategies and the management of human schistosomiasis. Towards these ends, this thesis identifies bulinid species and the parasites they transmit and implicates certain species in the transmission of S. haematobium. The thesis also includes a systematic review of methods to detect schistosome transmission. The phylogenetic relationships among species of Bulinus were investigated using barcoding genes as well as comparisons among mitogenomes. The work described provides the foundation for genome-wide studies to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the successful development of S. haematobium or S. bovis in some but not all bulinid species.