Schistosomiasis, a chronic disease, ravages more than 220 million people worldwide, with the majority of cases concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite decades of extensive drug campaigns, schistosomiasis remains one of the world’s most prevalent and neglected tropical diseases. Rice farmers and their families are particularly at risk because the parasite that causes the disease is spread by freshwater snails that live in standing water in rice fields.
New research published in natural sustainability studied how killifish and fish co-culture, an intervention technique that introduces fish into rice fields, can help reduce disease incidence and poverty in the northern Senegal River basin, a hotspot for schistosomiasis.
One of the most interesting aspects of this study is that it suggests that we don’t always have to choose between improving human health, increasing food production, and protecting the environment. Introducing native fish back into rice fields could help farmers produce more food and generate additional income while reducing disease transmission. Win-win-win solutions like this are rare, but exactly what is needed for sustainable development. ”
Jason Rohr, Lyudmila F., Stephen J., Robert T. Gala Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, lead study author
Using data from more than 400 rural households in Senegal, researchers found that children of rice farmers had a higher prevalence of the disease than children of non-farmers, indicating the increased risk of contracting the disease faced by rice farmers and their families. Also, although there are drugs that can treat the disease, they cannot prevent reinfection. Reinfections continue to occur and contribute to the cycle of poverty and disease.
To reduce disease transmission, a research team led by Lohr introduced African bonnytongue and Nile tilapia into rice fields. These two native fish species naturally suppress snail populations by eating snails and competing with them for resources. Across two trials, the researchers found that both species thrived despite not actively feeding the fish.
The researchers found that waters with both fish species had fewer snails, which host the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, which is prevalent in the region. Reducing the number of snails could reduce the risk of infection faced by rice farmers and their families.
However, the benefits of the intervention extended beyond disease transmission. The researchers also found that the intervention increased rice yields by more than 25 percent, improved soil nutrients in the rice fields, and provided a potential secondary income source through the sale of harvested fish.
“What’s most meaningful to me about this study is that it takes agricultural techniques used elsewhere and extends them to the transmission of infectious diseases,” said Emily Selland, lead author of the study and a graduate student at Notre Dame’s Laure Institute. “We can also support the development of these communities by tackling schistosomiasis and designing sustainable, multidisciplinary solutions.”
Researchers believe the initial findings are encouraging and additional studies are already underway.
“The next step is to determine how this approach can be scaled up across rice-growing regions where schistosomiasis is endemic. If these results hold true, co-culture of killifish and fish could become a model for simultaneously addressing health, food security and poverty,” said Rohr, an affiliate of Notre Dame’s Eck Global Health and Environmental Change Initiative.
In addition to Lohr and Selland, other study co-authors include former Notre Dame’s Alexandra Sack; Nicolas Jouanard, Amadou Guisse, Momy Seck and Louis Dossou Magblenou from Station D’innovation Aquacole. Andrea J. Land and Julio A. De Leo of Stanford University; David Lopez Carr of the University of California, Santa Barbara; Molly J. Druska and Christopher B. Barrett of Cornell University;
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Notre Dame Poverty Initiative, and the Stanford Sustainability Accelerator of the Biology for Sustainability Program.
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Reference magazines:
Selland, EK others. (2026). Co-culture of rice and fish reduces the risk of schistosomiasis and increases yields and incomes. natural sustainability. DOI: 10.1038/s41893-026-01833-8. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-026-01833-8
