Linked surveillance and genetic data uncovers programmatically relevant geographic scale of Guinea worm transmission in Chad.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) was detected in Chad in 2010 after a supposed ten-year absence, posing a challenge to the global eradication effort. Initiation of a village-based surveillance system in 2012 revealed a substantial number of dogs infected with Guinea worm, raising questions about paratenic hosts and cross-species transmission.

Methodology/principal findings

We coupled genomic and surveillance case data from 2012-2018 to investigate the modes of transmission between dog and human hosts and the geographic connectivity of worms. Eighty-six variants across four genes in the mitochondrial genome identified 41 genetically distinct worm genotypes. Spatiotemporal modeling revealed worms with the same genotype ('genetically identical') were within a med

SUBMITTER: Ribado JV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8341693 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature