What is schistosomiasis? What are the hazards?

What is schistosomiasis? It is very unfamiliar to many people because they have never seen schistosomiasis, let alone the various diseases caused by schistosomiasis entering the human body. Schistosomiasis actually refers to a series of damages caused to the human body after the human body is infected with schistosomes and then enters the human body. People are mainly infected with schistosomiasis through contact with water or food contaminated by schistosomes. Oncomelania snails are a common host of schistosomes.

Nowadays, people love to eat snails very much, and sometimes they are not cooked thoroughly, so they may eat snails containing schistosomiasis. The schistosomiasis then enters the human body and causes various harms. So what is schistosomiasis? Let us learn about it.

my country is an endemic area for schistosomiasis japonicum. It is the most seriously affected of the four endemic countries for schistosomiasis japonicum and one of the four countries with the most serious schistosomiasis in the world. Schistosomiasis in my country is prevalent in the Yangtze River Basin and 12 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) to its south, and threatens 100 million people.

During the life cycle of Schistosoma japonicum, the cercariae, larvae, adults and eggs can all cause varying degrees of damage and complex immunopathological reactions to the human body.

Generally speaking, the damage caused by cercariae, adults and larvae is mostly transient or mild, while the egg granulomas and subsequent fibrosis induced by the deposition of eggs in tissues such as the liver and intestines are the main pathological basis of schistosomiasis. Clinically, the syndrome is characterized by hepatosplenomegaly, portal hypertension, and varices of the lower esophagus and gastric fundus due to the formation of collateral circulation.

Schistosomiasis is a chronic granulomatous immune disease. The pathological basis is the large number of worm eggs deposited in the liver microvessels and the host's inflammatory and fibrotic response to the worm eggs. Schistosoma egg granuloma and fibrosis are the main lesions of schistosomiasis and are also the root cause of liver and intestinal lesions in schistosomiasis.

We have already made a general introduction to what schistosomiasis is. In fact, the prevalence of schistosomiasis is regional, mainly in areas where snails breed densely. It is also a source of infection for migrant populations, so people traveling to areas where schistosomiasis is prevalent must pay special attention to prevention and treatment.