Parasitologie en RDC: diversité parasitaire et écologie des maladies

Abstract

Anthropogenic disturbance and biodiversity loss can alter host-parasite dynamics, with consequences for public-, veterinary-, and ecosystem health. This research aims to investigate how varying levels of habitat disturbance and biodiversity influence helminth diversity and infection patterns in rodents in the Yangambi landscape. Helminths are parasitic worms such as roundworms (Nematoda), tapeworms (Cestoda), and flukes (Trematoda), and include zoonotic species. Rodents were sampled across a gradient of disturbance and biodiversity, spanning pristine forests, secondary forests, plantations, crop fields, and villages. The sampled sites include COBIMFO- and Mega-Transect plots. The research is therefore conducted in collaboration with researchers from the RESTOREID and PilotMAB+ projects. Gastrointestinal tracts were dissected to isolate helminths, which were subsequently identified using morphological and molecular methods. So far, 113 rodents have been examined, yielding a total of 1393 helminths. Nematodes dominated across all organs, with relatively few cestodes and no trematodes observed. Detailed helminth identification is currently ongoing, and additional rodent species and habitats will be included in future work. Subsequently, relationships between disturbance, biodiversity, and helminth diversity and infection will be analyzed. The results of this study, combined with insights from similar research on viruses from the RESTOREID project, will contribute to a better understanding of biodiversity-disease relationships in Yangambi and beyond. This research is conducted in the Zoology Research Group at UHasselt led by Prof. dr. Maarten Vanhove. Other ongoing research in this group includes the impact of mining on water quality and fish parasites in Haut-Katanga (Gyrhaiss Kasembele - UHasselt, Université de Lubumbashi), as well as ichthyo-parasitological research and the use of wetland macroinvertebrates and parasites as bioindicators in the DRC and beyond (Prof. dr. Nikol Kmentova - AfroWetMaP - UHasselt, RBINS).