Impact of carbamide perhydrate on the snail Bulinus truncatus, the intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium

Control of the snail Bulinus truncatus is an essential component in the elimination of the parasite Schistosoma haematobium in Egypt. Carbamide perhydrate, as a disinfectant and bleaching agent in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, was bio-assayed against B. truncatus snails. It was toxic to these snails with LC₉₀ of 138.54 ppm after 24-h of exposure. It caused significant detrimental effects on the total protein content, the activities of AST, ALT and ALP enzymes, and the levels of steroid sex hormones in the tissues of treated snails, which in turn reflected negatively on their fecundity (Mx) and reproductive rate (R₀). The reduction rate of R₀ for snails treated with LC₂₅ was 76.66%. Moreover, this compound exerted obvious histological changes in the digestive and hermaphrodite glands of treated snails, where secretory and digestive cells in the digestive gland were swelled and ruptured in addition to degeneration of connective tissues, ova and sperms in acini of the hermaphrodite gland. So, carbamide perhydrate exerted harmful effects to B.truncatus snails, as it negatively affected their biological and physiological activities as well their productivity, hence minimize or diminish the snail population available for the transmission of S. haematobium. Therefore, this compound could be suggested as an effective and safe component in schistosomiasis control program