Notre Dame Science

The chronic disease schistosomiasis wreaks havoc on more than 220 million people around the world, with the vast majority of cases being in sub-Saharan Africa.

Rice farmers and their families are particularly at risk, as the parasitic worms that cause the disease are spread by freshwater snails found in the standing water of rice fields.

New research published in Nature Sustainability has explored how rice-fish coculturing — an intervention technique that introduces fish into the rice fields — could help reduce disease incidence and poverty along the northern Senegal River basin, a hot spot for schistosomiasis.

“What is most meaningful to me about this work is that we’re taking an agricultural technique used in other regions and expanding it to infectious disease transmission,” said Emily Selland, lead author of the study and graduate student in the Rohr Lab at Notre Dame. “We can tackle schistosomiasis and also support the development of these communities by designing a sustainable and multidisciplinary solution.”

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Rice-fish farming may help curb schistosomiasis while increasing food production New research published in Nature Sustainability and led by Notre Dame has explored how rice-fish coculturing — an intervention technique that intr...

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