Neglected Tropical Diseases

The NTD Initiative

Schistosomiasis

Also known as bilharzia (bill-HAR-zi-a), schistosomiasis is a disease caused by parasitic worms and is considered second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease in tropical countries.1 Schistosomiasis can be found in some 74 tropical countries in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, East Asia, and in the Middle East, with more than 600 million people at risk of infection and more than 200 million people infected worldwide.2 Schistosomiasis is associated with renal and bladder dysfunction (Schistosoma haematobium [S. haematobium]) or liver and intestinal disease (Schistosoma mansoni [S. mansoni], Schistosoma japonicum [S. japonicum], Schistosoma mekongi [S. mekongi], and Schistosoma intercalatum [S. intercalatum]) in affected populations.3

 

Learn more about schistosomiasis:

• Epidemiology
• Life Cycle
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment, Prevention, and Control

Additional Resources

• The Role of Health Education and Sanitation in the Control of Helminth Infections – May 2003
  (Read the abstract. Article available for purchase.)
• The Global Epidemiological Situation of Schistosomiasis and New Approaches to Control and Research – 2002
  (Read the abstract. Article available for purchase.)
• The Epidemiology of Bilharzia in Ancient Egypt: 5000 Years of Schistosomiasis – 1996
• The Control of Schistosomiasis: Second Report of the WHO Expert Committee – 1993 [PDF, 4.8MB]
• Parasitic Helminth Infection and Cognitive Function in School Children – 2/22/92
  (Read the abstract. Article available for purchase.)

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References

1. Contis G, David AR. The epidemiology of bilharzia in ancient Egypt: 5000 years of schistosomiasis. Parasitol Today 1996; 12: 253–55
2. Engels D, Chitsulo L, Montresor A, Savioli L. The global epidemiological situation of schistosomiasis and new approaches to control and research. Acta Trop 2002; 82: 139–46.
3. WHO. The control of schistosomiasis. Second report of the WHO Expert Committee (1993). World Health Organization, Geneva