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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), with hundreds of millions infected worldwide.
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.
Schistosoma intercalatum is a parasitic worm found in parts of western and central Africa. There are two strains: the Lower Guinea strain and the Zaire strain. S. intercalatum is one of the major agents of the rectal form of schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia.
Clinical symptoms are caused by the eggs. As the leading cause of schistosomiasis in the world, it is the most prevalent parasite in humans. It is classified as a neglected tropical disease. As of 2021, the World Health Organization reports that 251.4 million people have schistosomiasis and most of it is due to S. mansoni. [1]
Schistosomiasis is known as bilharzia or bilharziosis in many countries, after German physician Theodor Bilharz, who first described the cause of urinary schistosomiasis in 1851. [ 81 ] [ 82 ] The first physician who described the entire disease cycle was the Brazilian parasitologist Pirajá da Silva in 1908.
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.
Schistosomiasis was first reported in the Mekong River's Lower Basin region in 1957, from Laotian island of Khong to Cambodian province of Kratié, specifically. [2] It was believed that the cause of these cases was Schistosoma japonicum until 1978, when Neotricula aperta was discovered and it was determined that the Schistosome was a unique species, Schistosoma mekongi. [2]
Schistosoma bovis is a two-host blood fluke, that causes intestinal schistosomiasis in ruminants in North Africa, Mediterranean Europe and the Middle East. S. bovis is mostly transmitted by Bulinus freshwater snail species.