The blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that affects more than 110 million people. Treating this disease by targeted or mass administration with a single chemical, praziquantel, carries the risk that drug resistance will develop in this pathogen. Therefore, there is an imperative to search for new drug targets in S. haematobi...

INTODUCF1ON SCHISTOSOMES that infect domestic animals are of great economic importance, and may even cause death in cattle and sheep.' These parasites may also at times infest man, the most important of the several species being Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni. They are the subject of the present discussion. Both these parasites have a complicated, but similar, life cycle. Matur...

Schistosoma haematobium is the etiologic agent for urogenital schistosomiasis, a major source of morbidity and mortality for more than 112 million people worldwide. Infection with S. haematobium results in a variety of immunopathologic sequelae caused by parasite oviposition within the urinary tract, which drives inflammation, hematuria, fibrosis, bladder dysfunction, and increased susceptibili...

BACKGROUND Pathological changes due to infection with Schistosoma haematobium include cytokine-mediated urinary tract inflammation. The involved cytokines may be excreted in urine and their presence in urine may therefore reflect S. haematobium-related urinary tract pathology. The present study, for the first time, reports on the relationship between selected cytokines in urine and infection wi...

BACKGROUND Handheld light microscopy using compact optics and mobile phones may improve the quality of health care in resource-constrained settings by enabling access to prompt and accurate diagnosis. METHODOLOGY Laboratory technicians were trained to operate two handheld diagnostic devices (Newton Nm1 microscope and a clip-on version of the mobile phone-based CellScope). The accuracy of thes...

BACKGROUND Malaria, schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminth infections (STH) are important parasitic infections in Sub-Saharan Africa where a significant proportion of people are exposed to co-infections of more than one parasite. In Tanzania, these infections are a major public health problem particularly in school and pre-school children. The current study investigated malaria and helmi...

BACKGROUND Malaria and intestinal helminths co-infection are major public health problems particularly among school age children in Nigeria. However the magnitude and possible interactions of these infections remain poorly understood. This study determined the prevalence, impact and possible interaction of Plasmodium falciparum and intestinal helminths co-infection among school children in rura...

Hybridization of infectious agents is a major emerging public and veterinary health concern at the interface evolution, epidemiology, control. Whilst evidence extent hybridization amongst parasites increasing, their impact on morbidity remains largely unknown. This may be predicted to particularly pertinent where animals with contrasting pathogenicity viably hybridize human parasites. Recent re...

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis affects millions of people, yet treatment options are limited. The antimalarial Synriam (piperaquine 150 mg/arterolane 750 mg) and the anthelminthic moxidectin revealed promising antischistosomal properties in preclinical or clinical studies. METHODOLOGY We conducted two single-blind, randomized exploratory Phase 2 trials in Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium-in...