Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?

We reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical des...

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Main Authors: Chris Appleton, Inbarani Naidoo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academy of Science of South Africa 2012-01-01
Series:South African Journal of Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://192.168.0.121/index.php/sajs/article/view/9770
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author Chris Appleton
Inbarani Naidoo
author_facet Chris Appleton
Inbarani Naidoo
author_sort Chris Appleton
collection DOAJ
description We reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical descriptions of the disease over this period indicate that infection was common, probably patchy, although sometimes with severe morbidity. The long period of quiescence between 1900 and 2002 is thought to be as a result of several factors, but primarily because of the impact of the area's cold winters and drought-prone climate on the survival and reproduction of both the snail intermediate host Bulinus africanus and the intramolluscan stages of the parasite. The concept of an outbreak area is invoked to describe the occurrence of intense urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in localised areas for relatively short periods of up to 35 years in this the southernmost part of its range in Africa, a suboptimal environment for transmission.
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spelling doaj.art-7e79bb55c7954911a61d1188eaeecdb22022-12-21T22:27:31ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892012-01-011081/2Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?Chris Appleton0Inbarani Naidoo1University of KwaZulu-NatalMedical Research CouncilWe reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical descriptions of the disease over this period indicate that infection was common, probably patchy, although sometimes with severe morbidity. The long period of quiescence between 1900 and 2002 is thought to be as a result of several factors, but primarily because of the impact of the area's cold winters and drought-prone climate on the survival and reproduction of both the snail intermediate host Bulinus africanus and the intramolluscan stages of the parasite. The concept of an outbreak area is invoked to describe the occurrence of intense urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in localised areas for relatively short periods of up to 35 years in this the southernmost part of its range in Africa, a suboptimal environment for transmission.http://192.168.0.121/index.php/sajs/article/view/9770Eastern Capeurogenital schistosomiasisbilharziaSchistosoma haematobiumBulinus africanusSchistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybrid
spellingShingle Chris Appleton
Inbarani Naidoo
Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
South African Journal of Science
Eastern Cape
urogenital schistosomiasis
bilharzia
Schistosoma haematobium
Bulinus africanus
Schistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybrid
title Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
title_full Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
title_fullStr Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
title_full_unstemmed Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
title_short Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
title_sort why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the eastern cape
topic Eastern Cape
urogenital schistosomiasis
bilharzia
Schistosoma haematobium
Bulinus africanus
Schistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybrid
url http://192.168.0.121/index.php/sajs/article/view/9770
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