Résumé
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease of major public health importance infecting over 240 million people globally, with the highest burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Major efforts are made to overcome the burden of this disease. Nevertheless, anthropogenic changes, migration of communities and spillover from animal reservoirs contribute to the maintenance of schistosomiasis transmission in endemic regions. Advances in the application of molecular methods are uncovering viable hybridisation events between human and animal Schistosoma spp., which further complicate disease management strategies. The outcome may be an entangled epidemiology in which agents of human schistosomiasis exploit a variety of animal reservoirs and, at the same time, hybridise with animal Schistosoma spp. facilitating the transmission of zoonotic hybrids. Focusing on two endemic regions of Senegal where rodent populations are known as sources of zoonotic schistosomiasis, my aim is to quantify the contribution of native and alien rodents to the transmission dynamics of Schistosoma species/hybrids. Ecological and genomic data will elucidate mechanisms of rodent-to-human infection spillover. Phylogenetics will determine host use and evolutionary relationships between apparent multi-host Schistosoma lineages responsible for disease in humans. Noninvasive sampling and diagnostic schemes will be implemented to facilitate capacity building for large-scale surveillance of rodent reservoirs of schistosomiasis in endemic regions. Therefore, this study will have a direct impact on One Health initiatives for effective schistosomiasis control. The role played by rodents may support the circulation of zoonotic Schistosoma, frustrating mass drug administration programmes and other public health strategies in the many African countries where schistosomiasis is endemic.