Environmental RNA improves detection and surveillance of schistosomiasis transmission
4 affiliations
- 1Interactions Hôtes-Pathogènes-Environnements, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, CNRS, Ifremer, Université de Montpellier, Perpignan F-66860, France
- 2Helminthology and Medical Malacology Group, Instituto René Rachou, Fiocruz Minas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte 30190-002, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- 3CNRS, Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UAR-2029, Moulis 09200, France
- 4Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l’Environnement UMR 5300, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3–Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 31062, France
Abstract
Environmental diagnosis of schistosomiasis, a disease affecting over 250 million people globally, remains challenging, thereby limiting efficient eradication efforts. Current methods, including environmental DNA (eDNA), cannot distinguish between infectious parasite life stages present in the environment. Here, we develop and validate an environmental RNA (eRNA) approach that enables detection and quantification of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia (infective to snails) and cercariae (infective to humans) directly from water samples. We identified life stage–specific transcripts and designed ddPCR assays highly specific to S. mansoni and each life stage. Laboratory experiments demonstrate that stage-specific eRNA assays accurately detect and quantify the relative abundance of each life stage. While eRNA and eDNA assays showed similar analytical limits of detection (LOD), eRNA provided enhanced organism-level detectability due to higher target molecule availability per life stage, also resulting in longer signal persistence in water that may facilitate the detection of the highly transient free-living stages of S. mansoni in the environment, especially cercariae. Field validation at six endemic sites in Brazil confirms that eRNA outperforms eDNA and conventional snail surveys in detecting S. mansoni cercariae indicating local transmission risk to humans. By enabling living stage discrimination and improving detectability compared to eDNA, our study advances both fundamental understanding and environmental surveillance of schistosomiasis transmission, supporting elimination initiatives in affected regions.
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BibTeX
@article{mercier2026environmental,
title = {{Environmental RNA improves detection and surveillance of schistosomiasis transmission}},
author = {Chiara Mercier and Philippe Douchet and Damien Pouzol and Jean-François Allienne and Roberta Lima Caldeira and Marina Moraes Mourão and Mariana Gomes Lima and Lângia Colli Montresor and Simon Blanchet and Géraldine Loot and Olivier Rey},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2602016123},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2602016123},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Environmental RNA improves detection and surveillance of schistosomiasis transmission
AU - Chiara Mercier
AU - Philippe Douchet
AU - Damien Pouzol
AU - Jean-François Allienne
AU - Roberta Lima Caldeira
AU - Marina Moraes Mourão
AU - Mariana Gomes Lima
AU - Lângia Colli Montresor
AU - Simon Blanchet
AU - Géraldine Loot
AU - Olivier Rey
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
DO - 10.1073/pnas.2602016123
UR - https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2602016123
AB - Environmental diagnosis of schistosomiasis, a disease affecting over 250 million people globally, remains challenging, thereby limiting efficient eradication efforts. Current methods, including environmental DNA (eDNA), cannot distinguish between infectious parasite life stages present in the environment. Here, we develop and validate an environmental RNA (eRNA) approach that enables detection and quantification of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia (infective to snails) and cercariae (infective to humans) directly from water samples. We identified life stage–specific transcripts and designed ddPCR assays highly specific to S. mansoni and each life stage. Laboratory experiments demonstrate that stage-specific eRNA assays accurately detect and quantify the relative abundance of each life stage. While eRNA and eDNA assays showed similar analytical limits of detection (LOD), eRNA provided enhanced organism-level detectability due to higher target molecule availability per life stage, also resulting in longer signal persistence in water that may facilitate the detection of the highly transient free-living stages of S. mansoni in the environment, especially cercariae. Field validation at six endemic sites in Brazil confirms that eRNA outperforms eDNA and conventional snail surveys in detecting S. mansoni cercariae indicating local transmission risk to humans. By enabling living stage discrimination and improving detectability compared to eDNA, our study advances both fundamental understanding and environmental surveillance of schistosomiasis transmission, supporting elimination initiatives in affected regions.
SN - 0027-8424
SN - 1091-6490
ER -