Schistosoma

Schistosoma is a genus of trematodes, commonly known as parasitic worms. They are grouped among the flatworms and belong to the class Trematoda, specifically, the Digenea. They are also called blood flukes and cause the disease schistosomiasis, which is second only to malaria in terms of socio-economic and public health importance in tropical and subtropical areas.

Life Cycle

The life cycle of Schistosoma involves two hosts: a definitive host (human) and an intermediate host (snail). The adult worms live in the blood vessels of the human host, where they reproduce sexually. The eggs are released into the environment through the feces or urine, where they hatch into miracidia. These infect the snail host, where they undergo asexual reproduction and develop into cercariae. The cercariae are then released into the water, where they can infect a human host through the skin.

Species

There are several species of Schistosoma that are important to human health. These include:

• Schistosoma mansoni - causes intestinal schistosomiasis
• Schistosoma haematobium - causes urinary schistosomiasis
• Schistosoma japonicum - causes Asian intestinal schistosomiasis
• Schistosoma mekongi and Schistosoma intercalatum - cause other forms of intestinal schistosomiasis

Disease

Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by infection with Schistosoma. It can cause a range of symptoms, from mild to severe, depending on the number of worms and the body's response to the infection. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, blood in the stool or urine, and in severe cases, liver and spleen enlargement, and bladder cancer.

Treatment

Treatment for schistosomiasis is with the drug praziquantel. This drug kills the adult worms in the body. In addition, efforts to control the disease focus on reducing exposure to contaminated water and improving sanitation to prevent the release of eggs into the environment.

See Also

• Trematoda
• Parasitic worms
• Schistosomiasis
• Praziquantel

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