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Chapter 56 - Schistosomiasis

from Section 8 - Helminth Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Amaya L. Bustinduy ,
Sekeleghe Kayuni  and
Ana Olga Mocumbi
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
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Summary

Schistosomiasis is the name given to diseases caused by parasitic blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. An older name, still widely used in Africa, is bilharzia, after Theodor Bilharz, who discovered the blood fluke during a post-mortem examination at the Kasr-el-Aini Hospital in Cairo. Of the three major species that commonly infect humans, two occur predominantly in Africa: S. mansoni, a cause of intestinal schistosomiasis, also found in Brazil and the Caribbean; and S. haematobium, the cause of urogenital schistosomiasis, also found in the Middle East. The third major species, S. japonicum, causes another form of intestinal schistosomiasis but is now found only in some areas in China and the Philippines. A minor species, S. intercalatum, also causes intestinal disease albeit in very few areas of Central Africa.

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Chapter
Information
Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 543 - 560
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

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