Schistosomiasis,also known as snail fever,bilharzia,and Katayama fever,is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain,diarrhea,bloody stool,or blood in the urine. Those who have been infected for a long time may experience liver damage,kidney failure,infertility,or bladder cancer. In children,it may cause poor growth and learning difficulty.
Coinfection is the simultaneous infection of a host by multiple pathogen species. In virology,coinfection includes simultaneous infection of a single cell by two or more virus particles. An example is the coinfection of liver cells with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus,which can arise incrementally by initial infection followed by superinfection.
Praziquantel (PZQ),sold under the brandname Biltricide among others,is a medication used to treat a number of types of parasitic worm infections in mammals,birds,amphibians,reptiles,and fish. In humans specifically,it is used to treat schistosomiasis,clonorchiasis,opisthorchiasis,tapeworm infections,cysticercosis,echinococcosis,paragonimiasis,fasciolopsiasis,and fasciolosis. It should not be used for worm infections of the eye. It is taken by mouth.
Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates,due in part to the occurrence of a cold season,which controls the insect population by forcing hibernation. However,many were present in northern Europe and northern America in the 17th and 18th centuries before modern understanding of disease causation. The initial impetus for tropical medicine was to protect the health of colonial settlers,notably in India under the British Raj. Insects such as mosquitoes and flies are by far the most common disease carrier,or vector. These insects may carry a parasite,bacterium or virus that is infectious to humans and animals. Most often disease is transmitted by an insect bite,which causes transmission of the infectious agent through subcutaneous blood exchange. Vaccines are not available for most of the diseases listed here,and many do not have cures.
Helminthiasis,also known as worm infection,is any macroparasitic disease of humans and other animals in which a part of the body is infected with parasitic worms,known as helminths. There are numerous species of these parasites,which are broadly classified into tapeworms,flukes,and roundworms. They often live in the gastrointestinal tract of their hosts,but they may also burrow into other organs,where they induce physiological damage.
Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely,are more widespread,or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions.
Schistosoma mansoni is a water-borne parasite of humans,and belongs to the group of blood flukes (Schistosoma). The adult lives in the blood vessels near the human intestine. It causes intestinal schistosomiasis. Clinical symptoms are caused by the eggs. As the leading cause of schistosomiasis in the world,it is the most prevalent parasite in humans. It is classified as a neglected tropical disease. As of 2021,the World Health Organization reports that 251.4 million people have schistosomiasis and most of it is due to S. mansoni. It is found in Africa,the Middle East,the Caribbean,Brazil,Venezuela and Suriname.
Schistosoma intercalatum is a parasitic worm found in parts of western and central Africa. There are two strains:the Lower Guinea strain and the Zaire strain. S. intercalatum is one of the major agents of the rectal form of schistosomiasis,also called bilharzia. It is a trematode,and being part of the genus Schistosoma,it is commonly referred to as a blood-fluke since the adult resides in blood vessels.
Schistosoma haematobium is a species of digenetic trematode,belonging to a group (genus) of blood flukes (Schistosoma). It is found in Africa and the Middle East. It is the major agent of schistosomiasis,the most prevalent parasitic infection in humans. It is the only blood fluke that infects the urinary tract,causing urinary schistosomiasis,and is the leading cause of bladder cancer. The diseases are caused by the eggs.
Theodor Maximilian Bilharz was a German physician who made pioneering discoveries in the field of parasitology. His contributions led to the foundation of tropical medicine. He is best remembered as the discoverer of the blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium,the causative parasite of bloody urine (haematuria) known since ancient times in Egypt. The parasite,as the cause of bladder cancer,is declared by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as Group 1 carcinogen. The infection is known by an eponymous term bilharzia or bilharziasis,as well as by schistosomiasis.
Diseases of poverty are diseases that are more prevalent in low-income populations. They include infectious diseases,as well as diseases related to malnutrition and poor health behaviour. Poverty is one of the major social determinants of health. The World Health Report (2002) states that diseases of poverty account for 45% of the disease burden in the countries with high poverty rate which are preventable or treatable with existing interventions. Diseases of poverty are often co-morbid and ubiquitous with malnutrition. Poverty increases the chances of having these diseases as the deprivation of shelter,safe drinking water,nutritious food,sanitation,and access to health services contributes towards poor health behaviour. At the same time,these diseases act as a barrier for economic growth to affected people and families caring for them which in turn results into increased poverty in the community. These diseases produced in part by poverty are in contrast to diseases of affluence,which are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society.
Sir Roy Malcolm Anderson is a leading international authority on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases. He is the author,with Robert May,of the most highly cited book in this field,entitled Infectious Diseases of Humans:Dynamics and Control. His early work was on the population ecology of infectious agents before focusing on the epidemiology and control of human infections. His published research includes studies of the major viral,bacterial and parasitic infections of humans,wildlife and livestock. This has included major studies on HIV,SARS,foot and mouth disease,bovine tuberculosis,bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),influenza A,antibiotic resistant bacteria,the neglected tropical diseases and most recently COVID-19. Anderson is the author of over 650 peer-reviewed scientific articles with an h-index of 125.
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa,Asia,and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens,such as viruses,bacteria,protozoa,and parasitic worms (helminths). These diseases are contrasted with the "big three" infectious diseases,which generally receive greater treatment and research funding. In sub-Saharan Africa,the effect of neglected tropical diseases as a group is comparable to that of malaria and tuberculosis. NTD co-infection can also make HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis more deadly.
The Royal Society Africa Prize has been awarded by the Royal Society since 2006 to African-based researchers at the start of their career who are making innovative contributions to the biological sciences in Africa. £60,000 is awarded as a grant for the recipient to carry out a research project that is linked to an African centre of scientific excellence,normally a University or equivalent research centre,and a further £5,000 is given directly to the prizewinner.
Anne Walsh Rimoin is an American infectious disease epidemiologist whose research focuses on emerging infectious diseases (EIDs),particularly those that are crossing species from animal to human populations. She is a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Infectious Disease Division of the Geffen School of Medicine and is the Director of the Center for Global and Immigrant Health. She is an internationally recognized expert on the epidemiology of Ebola,human monkeypox,and disease emergence in Central Africa.
Eli Katunguka-Rwakishaya is a Ugandan veterinarian,academic and academic administrator. He is the Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University,one of Uganda's public universities. He was appointed to that position in February 2014. Prior to that,he served at the Director of Postgraduate studies at Makerere University,the oldest and largest public university in the country.
Sharon Jayne Peacock is a British microbiologist who is Professor of Public Health and Microbiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Peacock also sits on Cambridge University Council.
Carcinogenic parasites are parasitic organisms that depend on other organisms for their survival,and cause cancer in such hosts. Three species of flukes (trematodes) are medically-proven carcinogenic parasites,namely the urinary blood fluke,the Southeast Asian liver fluke and the Chinese liver fluke. S. haematobium is prevalent in Africa and the Middle East,and is the leading cause of bladder cancer. O. viverrini and C. sinensis are both found in eastern and southeastern Asia,and are responsible for cholangiocarcinoma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared them in 2009 as a Group 1 biological carcinogens in humans.
Thomas M. Kariuki is a Kenya biologist who is Chief Executive Officer of the Science for Africa Foundation. Kariuki previously served as the Director of Programmes for the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA). He was the Director of the Institute of Primate Research/National Museums of Kenya,for seven years. Kariuki’s research interests have spanned the immunology of neglected infectious diseases and he has been involved in global efforts to develop vaccines,drugs and diagnostics for poverty-related diseases. He has published on vaccines and diagnostics development for schistosomiasis (Bilharzia),malaria and co-infections and on policy issues related to biomedical research and funding. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS),Senior Fellowship of the European Foundations Initiative for Neglected Tropical Diseases,Presidential honour of the Order of Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) for scientific leadership and public service,Honorary Professor of Research of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine,LSTM.
Keith Roland Matthews,,,is a British cell biologist and parasitologist,currently Professor of Parasite Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on African trypanosomes,which cause human sleeping sickness and the equivalent cattle disease nagana.
