Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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]
In Africa, the progenitor species evolved into modern S. mansoni and S. haematobium around 2–5 million years ago. [ 72 ] [ 73 ] A German physician Theodor Maximillian Bilharz was the first to discover the parasite in 1851, while working at Kasr el-Aini Hospital, a medical school in Cairo.
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 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.
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.
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.
The WHO set a goal to control morbidity of schistosomiasis by 2020 and eliminate the public health problems associated with it by 2025 (bringing infections down to less than 1% of the population). [82] The effort is assisted by the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative. In 2018, a total of 63% of all school age children were treated. [83]