Prawns could be a vital weapon in the fight against a neglected tropical disease, as well as providing an important source of income and food for farmers on low incomes, a study suggests.

A paper in the journal Nature Sustainability highlights how the African river prawn is a “voracious” predator of the freshwater snail, which is a carrier of schistosomiasis – a debilitating disease of poverty that affects around 200 million people every year.

People pick up the disease when they come into contact with water infected with parasitic worms released by the snails. Children playing in rivers and pools often catch the disease as do farmers.

The disease is rarely fatal but it leads to abdominal and bladder problems and sometimes cancers as well as stunting in children. The female genital form of the disease can also lead to infertility.

The authors of the paper say that if a World Health Organization target of eliminating the disease by 2025 is to be reached more control strategies are needed, beyond the current policy of giving people living in areas where the disease is a risk preventive medicine.