Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Schistosomiasis is infection with a type of Schistosoma parasite.
Alternative Names
Bilharzia; Katayama fever; Swimmer's itch; Blood fluke
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
You get a schistosoma infection through contact with contaminated water. The parasite in its infective stages is called a cercaria. It swims freely in open bodies of water.
On contact with humans, the parasite burrows into the skin, matures into another stage (schistosomula), then migrates to the lungs and liver, where it matures into the adult form.
The adult worm then migrates to its preferred body part, depending on its species. These areas include the bladder, rectum, intestines, liver, portal venous system (the veins that carry blood from the intestines to liver), spleen, and lungs.
Schistosomiasis is not usually seen in the United States. It is common in many tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.
Review Date: 09/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Instructor in Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of
Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed
by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
