Observations on Schistosoma intercalatum in south-east Gabon

Observations were made in the field and laboratory to determine the strain characteristics of Schistosoma intercalatum in south-east Gabon. For an isolate from Franceville, data are given for egg shape, behaviour of cercariae, seven enzyme systems separated by isoelectric focusing, and intermediate host specificity. Isolates from Cameroun (Edea) and Zaire (Kisangani) were included in a comparative study of the enzymes; Franceville and Edea isolates resembled each other but differed from the Zaire isolate in hexokinase and phosphoglucomutase. The Franceville isolate was polymorphic in phosphoglucomutase and glucosephosphate isomerase. The sum of characters indicates that S. intercalatum as known from south-east Gabon belongs to the strain found in Cameroun and western Gabon, rather than to the strain known from Zaire. More information is needed on strain distribution, particularly for an area including western Zaire and the Republic of the Congo, which appears to separate the two known strains.