Schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is a helminthiasis caused by schistosomes, which are digenetic trematodes belonging to the phylum Platyhelminthes ^[1]. The human disease is chiefly associated with Schistosoma haematobium, S. japonicum, and S. mansoni, with minor contributions from S. intercalatum and S. mekongi in some accounts ^[1][2]. Source-backed detail on species-specific clinical distinctions is not yet available in the provided material ^[2][1].

The provided sources note that schistosomiasis encompasses both acute and chronic disease, and that the condition carries a significant burden of morbidity ^[2]. They also indicate that immunopathology is an important aspect of the disease, but they do not specify the clinical syndrome, symptom pattern, or organ complications in the supplied excerpts ^[2]. Source-backed detail on timing, severity pattern, and specific complications is not yet available. The material does, however, emphasize that control programs have reduced schistosomiasis-associated morbidity where implemented ^[3].

Schistosomiasis is reported as endemic across tropical and subtropical settings, with infection occurring in 78 countries in one source and 76 countries in another ^[1][2]. The disease is described as affecting more than 200 million people in the cited scholarly metadata and more than 250 million globally in the PubMed abstract, indicating a large and persistent surveillance burden ^[1][2][3]. The sources also state that almost 800 million people worldwide are at risk ^[2]. No outbreak-specific pattern or reservoir ecology is described in the supplied snippets beyond the identification of human-infecting species ^[2][1].

Source-backed detail on the route of transmission is not yet available in the provided snippets. The material identifies schistosomiasis as a parasitic infection with clinically significant human species, but it does not state the exposure mechanism or environmental stage of acquisition ^[2][1].

The sources specifically identify school-aged children as the predominant target group in earlier WHO preventive chemotherapy recommendations, reflecting their importance in endemic control programmes ^[3]. The 2022 guidance broadened eligibility to all age groups 2 years and older in endemic settings, suggesting that risk is not confined to children ^[3]. Beyond this, source-backed detail on other high-risk groups is not yet available in the provided material.

The supplied sources emphasize preventive chemotherapy as the principal public-health control approach. WHO guidance is described as recommending mass drug administration with praziquantel, historically directed mainly to school-aged children in endemic settings and later expanded in 2022 to include all age groups 2 years and older, with a lower prevalence threshold and increased treatment frequency ^[3]. School-based and community-based preventive chemotherapy programmes are reported to have been scaled up and to have reduced morbidity ^[3].

In surveillance terms, schistosomiasis should be read as a high-burden helminth infection with a wide endemic footprint and substantial at-risk population ^[2][1]. The sources support attention to preventive chemotherapy coverage, age eligibility, and treatment frequency as key programmatic indicators because these measures are explicitly tied to morbidity reduction and updated WHO guidance ^[3]. Source-backed detail on case definitions, notification thresholds, or laboratory confirmation is not yet available in the provided material.

1. 1 Schistosomiasis. Medical Parasitology. 1995. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780199633012.003.0010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199633012.003.0010
2. 2 LoVerde PT et al. Schistosomiasis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2024. PMID: 39008264. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-60121-7_3. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39008264/
3. 3 Lo NC et al. Review of 2022 WHO guidelines on the control and elimination of schistosomiasis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Nov. PMID: 35594896. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00221-3. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35594896/
4. 4 Stingl P et al. [Schistosomiasis]. MMW Fortschr Med. 2017 Sep. PMID: 29468512. doi: 10.1007/s15006-017-0067-7. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29468512/
5. 5 Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis. DGPI Handbuch. 2026. doi: 10.1055/f-0005-0087-b000000868. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/f-0005-0087-b000000868
6. 6 Schistosomiasis. Environmental Health Engineering in the Tropics. 2018. doi: 10.4324/9781315883946-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883946-17

ICD-10

B65

ICD-11

1F86

Total cases

242K

Total deaths

9

Peak month

2015-11

Coverage

2 reporting countries · 2007-01-01 → 2026-05-01