Abstract
In 1996, schistosomiasis due to Schistosoma japonicum was declared eradicated in Japan. In the People’s Republic of China, S. japonicum transmission has been interrupted in the major endemic areas in the coastal plains but the disease persists in the lake and marshland regions south of the Yangtze River. The disease remains a public health problem in endemic areas in the Philippines and in isolated areas in Indonesia. Comprehensive multidisciplinary campaigns had led to eradication of schistosomiasis in Japan and have been successful in the interruption of disease transmission in the major endemic regions of the People’s Republic of China. Unfortunately, the integrated measures cannot be duplicated in schistosomiasis endemic areas in the Philippines because of limited resources. The problem is also more complicated due to the topography in the Philippines and transmission is not seasonal as in China. An innovative approach is needed in the Philippines if schistosomiasis elimination is the goal.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem in endemic areas in the Philippines with approximately 12 million people residing in 28 endemic provinces located across 12 different geographical zones at risk of S. japonicum infection [1,2,3,4,5]
Placental TFN-α has been associated with both S. japonicum infection and markedly decreased birth weight [15]
In the 1980s, when the highly effective anti-schistosome drug praziquantel (PZQ) was introduced in the Philippines, the schistosomiasis control program rolled out a large-scale community-based chemotherapy approach to eliminate the risk of parasite-associated morbidity – this approach became the backbone of schistosomiasis control in the Philippines [18]
Summary
Schistosomiasis remains a public health problem in endemic areas in the Philippines with approximately 12 million people residing in 28 endemic provinces located across 12 different geographical zones at risk of S. japonicum infection [1,2,3,4,5]. Just like in China, bovines, water buffaloes (carabaos) in particular, play a major role in the transmission of schistosomiasis in the Philippines with infection prevalence close to 90% in some endemic barrangays. A 2011 study carried out in the municipality of Palapag, Northern Samar showed the S. japonicum prevalence in cattle to be 87.5% and 77.1% via real-time PCR (qPCR) and the formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation (FEA-SD), respectively. A recent study in Leyte Province showed a 97% prevalence via perfusion, 67.7% via qPCR and 34.3% by FEA-SD [8]
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