In May 2001, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution which urged member states to attain, by 2010, a minimum target of regularly administering anthelminthic drugs to at least 75% and up to 100% of all school-aged children at risk of morbidity. The refined global strategy for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis was issued in the following year and large-scale administration of anthelminthic drugs endorsed as the central feature. This strategy has subsequently been termed 'preventive chemotherapy'. Clearly, the 2001 WHA resolution led the way for concurrently controlling multiple neglected tropical diseases. In this paper, we recall the schistosomiasis situation in Africa in mid-2003. Adhering to strategic guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, we estimate the projected annual treatment needs with praziquantel among the school-aged population and critically discuss these estimates. The important role of geospatial tools for disease risk mapping, surveillance and predictions for resource allocation is emphasised. We clarify that schistosomiasis is only one of many neglected tropical diseases and that considerable uncertainties remain regarding global burden estimates. We examine new control initiatives targeting schistosomiasis and other tropical diseases that are often neglected. The prospect and challenges of integrated control are discussed and the need for combining biomedical, educational and engineering strategies and geospatial tools for sustainable disease control are highlighted. We conclude that, for achieving integrated and sustainable control of neglected tropical diseases, a set of interventions must be tailored to a given endemic setting and fine-tuned over time in response to the changing nature and impact of control. Consequently, besides the environment, the prevailing demographic, health and social systems contexts need to be considered.

/pdf/schistosomiasis-and-neglected-tropical-diseases-towards-2focveufa7.pdf

Schistosomiasis and neglected tropical diseases: towards integrated and sustainable control and a word of caution

From innovation to application: social-ecological context, diagnostics, drugs and integrated control of schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis is a major disease of public health importance in humans occurring in over 70 countries of the tropics and sub-tropics In this chapter, the history of the control of schistosomiasis is briefly discussed and current methods of control of schistosomiasis are reviewed; including mollusciciding, biological control of the intermediate snail hosts, the development of drugs to kill the adult worms, provision of clean water and health education, with a focus on the African situation Since an effective vaccine against schistosomiasis is lacking, the emphasis today is placed on the drug praziquantel (PZQ) The marked reduction in the cost of PZQ together with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has enabled the drug to be used more widely in sub-Saharan Africa Nevertheless, with the possibility of resistance to praziquantel emerging, the potential role of other drugs, such as artemether, in the control of schistosomiasis is examined The World Health Organization (WHO) anticipates that at least 75% of all schoolchildren at risk of morbidity from schistosomiasis will be treated by 2010, with the aim of reversing morbidity The importance of recent international initiatives such as the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) working in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda is recognised There are benefits to integrating the control of schistosomiasis with other disease control programmes, such as gastrointestinal helminths and/or lymphatic filariasis (LF), since this markedly reduces the cost of delivery of the treatment Countries that are situated on the perimeter of the distribution of schistosomiasis have either achieved or have made progress towards the elimination of the disease For control programmes to be successful in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, it is absolutely essential that these programmes are sustainable Thus, it will be vital for Ministries of Health and Education to budget for the control of diseases of poverty in addition to school health, and to utilise funds from a range of sources, such as, government funds, pooled donor contributions, or bilateral and international agencies

Implementation of Human Schistosomiasis Control: Challenges and Prospects

https://www.cell.com/trends/parasitology/pdf/S1471-4922(03)00322-2.pdf

Schistosomiasis control: keep taking the tablets.

Background 
Programs for schistosomiasis control are advancing worldwide, with many benefits noted in terms of disease reduction. Yet risk of reinfection and recurrent disease remain, even in areas with high treatment coverage. In the search for means to better prevent new Schistosoma infections, attention has returned to an older strategy for transmission control, i.e., chemical mollusciciding, to suppress intermediate host snail species responsible for S. mansoni and S. haematobium transmission. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize prior experience in molluscicide-based control of Bulinus and Biomphalaria spp. snails, and estimate its impact on local human Schistosoma infection.


Methodology/Principal Findings 
The review was registered at inception with PROSPERO (CRD42013006869). Studies were identified by online database searches and hand searches of private archives. Eligible studies included published or unpublished mollusciciding field trials performed before January 2014 involving host snails for S. mansoni or S. haematobium, with a primary focus on the use of niclosamide. Among 63 included papers, there was large variability in terms of molluscicide dosing, and treatment intervals varied from 3–52 weeks depending on location, water source, and type of application. Among 35 studies reporting on prevalence, random effects meta-analysis indicated that, on average, odds of infection were reduced 77% (OR 0.23, CI95% 0.17, 0.31) during the course of mollusciciding, with increased impact if combined with drug therapy, and progressively greater impact over time. In 17 studies reporting local incidence, risk of new infection was reduced 64% (RR 0.36 CI95% 0.25, 0.5), but additional drug treatment did not appear to influence incidence effects.


Conclusion/Significance 
While there are hurdles to implementing molluscicide control, its impact on local transmission is typically strong, albeit incomplete. Based on past experience, regular focal mollusciciding is likely to contribute significantly to the move toward elimination of schistosomiasis in high risk areas.

/pdf/systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-of-the-impact-of-1xc695mymr.pdf

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Impact of Chemical-Based Mollusciciding for Control of Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium Transmission

New challenges in schistosomiasis control in Morocco.

Evaluation of three methods to control Bulinus truncatus, the intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium in an irrigation scheme, Tessaout-Amont, Morocco

K Khallaayoune

Papers

New challenges in schistosomiasis control in Morocco.

Evaluation of three methods to control Bulinus truncatus, the intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium in an irrigation scheme, Tessaout-Amont, Morocco