Human Schistosomiasis

Human schistosomes (blood flukes) are diagnostic trematodes that spend the adult part of their life cycle in humans and a further part in aquatic snails. Despite advances in chemotherapy, schistosomiasis is still a significant infection in the populations of numerous countries in the tropics.
This book replaces a previous volume - Schistosomiasis: Epidemiology, Treatment and Control (Heinemann, 1982) - by Jordan and Webbe. All chapters have been rewritten by internationally renowned workers. Ultrasound (which is expected to aid identification of early disease in the field and increase our understanding of its evolution) is discussed in a new chapter. Other chapters, each with an extensive bibliography, review the parasites and their snail intermediate hosts, epidemiology, clinical manifestations and pathology, diagnosis, immunology, drugs, and patient management and control. Limitations of the role of chemotherapy in morbidity control are discussed and the need for flexibility in control interventions in varied epidemiologica situations is stressed. This comprehnisive volume is aimed at public health workers, physicians, as well as students and teachers of many disciplines. It also provides a reference book for health planners, social anthropologists, health educators, water and sanitary engineers and others engaged in improving health in the tropics. Physicians in temperate contries will also find it useful, as schistosomiasis, often acute, is being diagnosed more frequently in those returning from vacations in endemic areas.