Malacological surveys were conducted in 2021 in the Kimpese region of Central Kongo Province, west of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Snail specimens were collected following a standardised protocol, identified using morphological and molecular methods, and tested for schistosome infection using a diagnostic PCR assay. Positive snail samples were sequenced to characterise the infecting schistosome species. Partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene sequences were used in phylogenetic analyses to explore the evolutionary position of these snail species within the broader African context. At least four intermediate snail hosts were identified: Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus forskalii, Biomphalaria pfeifferi, and a Biomphalaria species belonging to the Nilotic species complex (tentatively named Biomphalaria cf sudanica), of which the species identity needs to be confirmed. A total of 37 out of 1,196 snails (3.1%) tested positive for schistosome infection, with an infection prevalence of 7.4% for B. truncatus with Schistosoma haematobium and 1.5% for Biomphalaria spp. with Schistosoma mansoni. The S. mansoni sequence retrieved from these samples formed a basal clade relative to Zambian isolates, whereas S. haematobium grouped with the most frequently characterised haplotype cluster previously identified across mainland Africa. It is important to note that no animal schistosome species were identified in this study. Both the sequences from the snail hosts and the parasites represent novel contributions from the DRC. Additionally, the findings update the current knowledge of schistosomiasis transmission in the Kimpese region by providing insight into the phylogenetic placement, species diversity, and infection status of local snail populations.

The relationship between urbanization and mining is a precarious one; the latter often expands at the expense of the former. The incautious urban planning of a mining city in southeastern DR Congo, however, has opened up opportunities for residents with artisanal mining skills. Since the city is constructed on top of mineral deposits, the residents are able to dig ore in their own backyards to draw their subsistence. Based upon archival and ethnographic research, Geenen argues that, by self-generating the livelihoods they expected their resource-rich soil to bring forth, these artisanal diggers take advantage of the urbanized mineral deposits and write their own narrative of capitalism.