The effectiveness of water treatment processes against schistosome cercariae: A systematic review
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006364
- PMID
- 29608589
- PMCID
- PMC5903662
- OpenAlex
- W2796282217
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The review addresses a potential approach to schistosomiasis control by providing water in which cercariae have been removed or inactivated, potentially reducing contact with infested water and reinfection or transmission.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
To summarize the effectiveness of water-treatment processes for removing or inactivating human schistosome cercariae.
Study design
A qualitative systematic review of studies identified through searches of four online databases and categorized by five treatment processes: storage, heating, chlorination, filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection.
Population and setting
The review concerns human schistosome cercariae in water and their removal or inactivation for recreational, domestic, laundry, and bathing water supplies.
Main findings
The review reports that all five assessed methods could remove or inactivate cercariae and produce cercaria-free water. Reported findings include inactivation after 10–72 hours of storage depending on temperature, chlorination values of 3–30 mg-min/L, UV fluences of 3–60 mJ/cm², and removal by sand filters with 0.18–0.35 mm grain size.
Public-health relevance
The review addresses a potential approach to schistosomiasis control by providing water in which cercariae have been removed or inactivated, potentially reducing contact with infested water and reinfection or transmission.
Important limitations
The available evidence was insufficient to produce reliable, complete water-treatment design guidelines. Variation in water-quality conditions and methods used to measure key experimental parameters limited comparability across studies.
GIDS interpretation
The article provides a systematic-review source for discoverability around schistosomiasis, water treatment, and transmission; the supplied evidence does not connect it to a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 7 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.