DACOSTA, SHAQUICE A.
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Once known as bilharzia. It was named after Theodor
Maximilian Bilharz.
1st to describe the ailment in men in 1851 at the Kasr-elAini in Cairo, Egypt.
Schistosome eggs were found in ancient Chinese and
Egyptian mummies by Sir Armand Ruffer in 1910 (SRG).
S. haematobium, first species to be discovered.
S. japonicum, named by Fijiro Katsurada, Professor of
Medicine at Okayama Medical School.
S. mansoni, discovered in 1907.
S. mekongi, officially named in 1978.
S. intercalatum, officially named in 1934.
Intestinal S.
Urogenital S.
Species
Geographical
distribution
S. mansoni
Africa, Middle East,
Caribbean, Brazil,
Venezuela, Suriname
S. japonicum
China, Indonesia,
Philippines
S. mekongi
Cambodia, Lao
S. intercalatum
Rainforests of central
Africa
S. haematobium
Africa, Middle East
Mainly anyone in contact/sustained with infested waters.
ie. Farmers, women washing clothes, and
children
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Caused by body’s
reaction to the worms’
eggs, not the worms.
Symptoms:
Abdominal pain
 Hematuria
 Fibrosis of the
bladder and ureter
 Vaginal bleeding
 infertility
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Diagnosed by finding
the parasite eggs in
stool or urine
samples.
Filtration using nylon,
paper, or other special
filters are used
Staining the fecal or
urine samples are also
used
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Larva will burrow
into human host’s
skin
Then, go on to live in
the blood vessels and
mate and deposit
thousands/millions of
eggs
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Praziquantel
It is effective, safe and
low-cost.
Re-infection may
occur after treatment,
the risk of developing
severe disease is
diminished and even
reversed when
treatment is initiated
in childhood.
[prazz-ih-KWAN-tull]
Comes in forms for human and for fish
tanks/ponds
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(3) Table: Parasite Species and Geographical Distribution of Schistosomiasis. Photograph. The
World Health Organization. The World Health Organization. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
(4) Global Distribution of Schistosomiasis. 1993. Photograph. The World Health
Organization. The World Health Organization. 1993. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
(6) Wetzel, Bruce. Schistosome Parasite. Photograph. National Cancer Institute. Wikipedia.
01 Jan. 2001. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
***(6) Schistosome Life Cycle Animation. The Wellcome Trust. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/labnotes5/animation_popups/schisto.html>.
(7) Temple, Bliss. "Schistosoma haematobium (blood flukes)". Stanford University. 28
March 2010
<http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2004/Schisto/website.html>.
(8) MatTodd. Praziquantel. Photograph. The Synaptic Leap. The Synaptic Leap. 01 Jan.
2006. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.