January is Schistosomiasis Awareness and Mass Drug Administration month in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health Calendar 2018.
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a disease caused by parasitic worms. More than 200 million people are infected worldwide. In terms of impact this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease. Schistosomiasis is considered one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
There are 5 species of schistosomes which infect humans. In the Philippines, Schistosoma japonicum is endemic. Schistosomiasis is endemic in 10 regions, 24 provinces, 183 municipalities and 1, 212 barangays with estimated exposed population of 6.7 million all over the Philippines, according to 2007 National League of Government Nurses data.
Read more about Schistosomiasis
Parasites podcasts you may enjoy:
- Taenia saginata: The beef tapeworm
- Naegleria fowleri: Study on death estimates, treatment success and the northward expansion of infections
- Dicrocoelium dendriticum: The lancet liver fluke
- Parasites 101: Ascaris lumbricoides
- Paragonimus: A look at this parasitic lung fluke
- Clonorchis sinensis: The Chinese liver fluke
- Acanthamoeba: A rare and potentially blinding parasite
- Parasites 101: Whipworm
- Dientamoeba fragilis: ‘The unflagellated human flagellate’
- Lymphatic filariasis in Nigeria: The battle against the disfiguring parasitic disease
- Parasites 101: Pinworms
- Parasites 101: Entamoeba histolytica
- Diphyllobothrium: The largest known tapeworms that can infect people
- Parasites 101: Swimmer’s itch
- Parasites 101: Cyclospora
- Coyote tapeworm in Alberta: 5th human case reported
- Raccoon roundworm: The rare and potentially lethal zoonosis
