Bilharzia; Katayama fever; Swimmer's itch; Blood fluke

Symptoms vary with the species of worm and the phase of infection.

• Heavy infestation (many parasites) may cause fever, chills, lymph node enlargement, and liver and spleen enlargement.
• Initial invasion of the skin may cause itching and a rash (swimmer's itch). In this condition, the schistosome is destroyed within the skin.
• Intestinal symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhea (which may be bloody).
• Urinary symptoms may include frequent urination, painful urination (dysuria), and blood in the urine (hematuria).

• Antibody test to checks for signs of schistosome infection
• Biopsy of tissue suspected of being infected
• Complete blood count (CBC) to check for signs of anemia
• Eosinophil count to measure the number of certain white blood cells
• Stool examination to look for parasite eggs
• Test for schistosome eggs in stool and urine
• Urinalysis

Images

Antibodies

Swimmer's itch

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Schistosomiasis Overview

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Schistosomiasis Treatment

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)