The ATRAP project: citizens scientists reporting snail intermediate host occurrence in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Snail-borne parasitic diseases pose significant public health and veterinary challenges in many tropical and subtropical regions. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), schistosomiasis and fascioliasis are the most prevalent representatives, and are caused by parasitic flatworms of the genera Schistosoma and Fasciola respectively. In SSA, freshwater snails of the genera Biomphalaria and Bulinus act as intermediate hosts for schistosome parasites, while Radix natalensis is the primary vector of fascioliasis (via transmitting Fasciola gigantica). Biomphalaria spp. transmit Schistosoma mansoni, whereas Bulinus spp. transmit both Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma intercalatum.The ATRAP dataset contains occurrence records of Biomphalaria, Bulinus, and Radix in the Lake Albert region of western Uganda and the Kimpese region of western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between March 2020 and April 2023. The records were collected by a trained citizen science network in both communities, which monitored snail populations on a weekly basis at fixed water body sites. For each sampling, the records were uploaded to a KoboToolbox server. Each record present in the database was validated by experts based on attached field photographs submitted by a citizen scientist. The taxonomic identification was done to the genus level, due to the morphological plasticity that exists among species within each genus.