Schistosoma mansoni infection is associated with changes in gut microbiota in preschool age children in Albertine Region, Uganda

Current understanding of gut microbiota alterations during helminthiasis is largely derived from experimental models, often focusing on a narrow range of metrics. This study investigates the structural and functional shifts in the gut microbiome associated with Schistosoma mansoni infection in a paediatric cohort. We conducted a cross-sectional study of preschool-aged children (12–47 months) comparing S. mansoni -infected individuals (56) to uninfected controls (57). Microbial DNA was extracted from stool samples and sequenced via the Illumina MiSeq v3 platform targeting the V4-16S rRNA region. Diversity was assessed through alpha (Chao1, Simpson, Shannon) and beta (UniFrac and Bray-Curtis distance) metrics. Functional potential was predicted using PICRUSt2 mapped against the KEGG database. The infected group (median age 36 months) exhibited significantly higher alpha diversity and species richness compared to uninfected peers (median age 26 months). Beta diversity analysis confirmed distinct microbial clustering between the two groups (p-value = 0.001). Notably, S. mansoni infection was characterized by the proliferation of pro-inflammatory taxa and a concomitant depletion of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers. Functional modeling indicated a significant downregulation of metabolic pathways involved in energy metabolism and SCFA biosynthesis. S. mansoni infection is associated with profound structural and functional dysbiosis in preschool-aged children. The depletion of SCFA producers and altered metabolic pathways suggest that infection may impair host nutritional status and influence the parasite’s lifecycle, necessitating further longitudinal investigation.