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Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever [1] [2] [9] is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. [5] It affects the urinary tract or the intestines. [5] Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine. [5]
It is found in Africa and the Middle East. It is the major agent of schistosomiasis, the most prevalent parasitic infection in humans. [1] It is the only blood fluke that infects the urinary tract, causing urinary schistosomiasis, and is a leading cause of bladder cancer (only next to tobacco smoking). [2] [3] The diseases are caused by the eggs.
English: Eggs are eliminated with feces or urine (1). Under optimal conditions the eggs hatch and release miracidia (2), which swim and penetrate specific snail intermediate hosts (3).
Symptoms of all forms of schistosomiasis are caused by the immune system's reaction to the eggs, rather than the adult worms themselves. [5] A few hours to days after cercariae invade the skin, some people experience pruritus and raised papules at the site of penetration. This is called cercarial dermatitis, also known as swimmer's itch.
Schistosoma is a genus of trematodes, commonly known as blood flukes.They are parasitic flatworms responsible for a highly significant group of infections in humans termed schistosomiasis, which is considered by the World Health Organization to be the second-most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease (after malaria), infecting millions worldwide.
Parasitic worms cannot reproduce entirely within their host's body; they have a life cycle that includes some stages that need to take place outside of the host. [3] Helminths are able to survive in their mammalian hosts for many years due to their ability to manipulate the host's immune response by secreting immunomodulatory products. [4]
Schistosoma japonicum is an important parasite and one of the major infectious agents of schistosomiasis.This parasite has a very wide host range, infecting at least 31 species of wild mammals, including nine carnivores, 16 rodents, one primate (human), two insectivores and three artiodactyls and therefore it can be considered a true zoonosis.
Attempts are made to kill the intermediate hosts for schistosomiasis (i.e. snails) using copper sulfate instead of sanitation and health education. The reasoning here is to prevent the schistosomiasis life-cycle from being completed. However it is unclear if these measures reduced the prevalence of schistosomiasis. [1] Schistosomiasis: 1938