Finding eggs of the parasite in urine or stool, antibodies in blood[5]
Prevention
Access to clean water[5]
Medication
Praziquantel[5]
Frequency
252 million (2015)[6]
Deaths
4,400–200,000[7][8]
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever,[1][2][9] is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes.[5] The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected.[5] Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine.[5] Those who have been infected for a long time may experience liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, or bladder cancer.[5] In children, it may cause poor growth and learning difficulty.[5]
The disease is spread by contact with fresh water contaminated with the parasites.[5] These parasites are released from infected freshwater snails.[5] The disease is especially common among children in developing countries, as they are more likely to play in contaminated water.[5] Schistosomiasis is also common among women, who can have greater exposure through daily chores that involve water like washing clothes and fetching water.[10] Other high-risk groups include farmers, fishermen, and people using unclean water during daily living.[5] It belongs to the group of helminth infections.[11] Diagnosis is by finding eggs of the parasite in a person's urine or stool.[5] It can also be confirmed by finding antibodies against the disease in the blood.[5]
Methods of preventing the disease include improving access to clean water and reducing the number of snails.[5] In areas where the disease is common, the medication praziquantel may be given once a year to the entire group.[5] This is done to decrease the number of people infected, and consequently, the spread of the disease.[5] Praziquantel is also the treatment recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for those who are known to be infected.[5]
Schistosomiasis affected about 236.6 million people worldwide in 2019.[12] An estimated 4,400 to 200,000 people die from it each year.[7][8] The disease is most commonly found in Africa, Asia, and South America.[5] Around 700 million people, in more than 70 countries, live in areas where the disease is common.[7][13] In tropical countries, schistosomiasis is second only to malaria among parasitic diseases with the greatest economic impact.[14] Schistosomiasis is listed as a neglected tropical disease.[15]
^ ab"Schistosomiasis (bilharzia)". NHS Choices. 17 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^ ab"Schistosomiasis". Patient.info. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
^"schistosomiasis - definition of schistosomiasis in English from the Oxford dictionary". OxfordDictionaries.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv"Schistosomiasis Fact sheet N°115". World Health Organization. 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^Vos T, Allen C, Arora M, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Brown A, et al. (GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators) (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282.
^ abcThétiot-Laurent SA, Boissier J, Robert A, Meunier B (July 2013). "Schistosomiasis chemotherapy". Angewandte Chemie. 52 (31): 7936–56. doi:10.1002/anie.201208390. PMID 23813602.
^ abVos T, Allen C, Arora M, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Brown A, et al. (GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators) (October 2016). "Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1459–1544. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31012-1. PMC 5388903. PMID 27733281.
tropical countries, schistosomiasis is second only to malaria among parasitic diseases with the greatest economic impact. Schistosomiasis is listed as a neglected...
(mesenteric veins) near the human intestine. It causes intestinal schistosomiasis (similar to S. japonicum, S. mekongi, S. guineensis, and S. intercalatum)...
produce these. Praziquantel "Schistosomiasis Fact Sheet". World Health Organization. Retrieved 10 August 2011. "Schistosomiasis". Centers for Disease Control...
It is found in Africa and the Middle East. It is the major agent of schistosomiasis, the most prevalent parasitic infection in humans. It is the only blood...
A Schistosomiasis vaccine is a vaccine against Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever), a parasitic disease caused by several...
of schistosomiasis japonica, a disease that still remains a significant health problem especially in lake and marshland regions. Schistosomiasis is an...
Unlimit Health (previously known as SCI Foundation and as the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative) is an international organisation working to end parasitic...
multilocularis. Schistosomiasis caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma: As of 2005, praziquantel is the primary treatment for human schistosomiasis, for which...
2016-06-26. "WHA54.19 Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infections" (PDF). World Health Organization. "About". Schistosomiasis Control Initiative...
treatments for NTDs are relatively inexpensive. For example, treatment for schistosomiasis costs US$0.20 per child per year. Nevertheless, in 2010 it was estimated...
A granuloma is an aggregation of macrophages (along with other cells) that forms in response to chronic inflammation. This occurs when the immune system...
Top 10 Most Dangerous Animals In The World, Conservation Institute Schistosomiasis: Still a Cause of Significant Morbidity and Mortality, National Center...
A schistosomicide is a drug used to combat schistosomiasis. Examples listed in MeSH include: amoscanate arteether artemether chloroxylenol hycanthone...
"heavy alcohol consumption and a very rich meal", acute endocarditis, schistosomiasis brought on by Schistosoma haematobium, porphyria, and Guillain-Barré...
Tropical Diseases and the WHO aim to control worm infections, including schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (which are caused by roundworms...
a traditional Chinese medicine believed to be useful for treating schistosomiasis, caused by trematodes which infect the urinary tract or the intestines...
children, for worm infections notably soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and schistosomiasis in areas with a high prevalence of these conditions. It involves treating...
being gifted to Ronald Reagan, on 30 August 1984, Jayathu died of schistosomiasis in the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Her death was surrounded...
deaths from schistosomiasis, while more than 200,000 people were estimated in 2013 to die annually from causes related to schistosomiasis. Another 20...
as Dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease), Hookworm, Elephantiasis, Schistosomiasis, Malaria, and Amebiasis cause unique and specific symptoms and are...
to GiveWell top charities Against Malaria Foundation, GiveDirectly, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and Deworm the World Initiative, as well as standout...
produced, venoms have become important tools in neurological research. Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis, or snail fever) is transmitted...
praziquantel, a medication which is under investigation for the treatment of schistosomiasis in young children with less side effects than the racemate. In December...
Head Office/African Regional Office (Schistosomiasis)'; 'Roadmap for control of schistosomiasis: Schistosomiasis: progress report 2001–2011, strategic...
skin contact with the water. Blood flukes are pathogens that cause Schistosomiasis of various forms, more or less seriously affecting hundreds of millions...
births, with an under-five mortality rate at 61 per 1,000 births. Schistosomiasis, malaria, and sexually transmitted diseases are common in Madagascar...
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