Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?
We reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical des...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academy of Science of South Africa
2012-01-01
|
| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/9930 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849387409071931392 |
|---|---|
| author | Chris Appleton Inbarani Naidoo |
| author_facet | Chris Appleton Inbarani Naidoo |
| author_sort | Chris Appleton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical descriptions of the disease over this period indicate that infection was common, probably patchy, although sometimes with severe morbidity. The long period of quiescence between 1900 and 2002 is thought to be as a result of several factors, but primarily because of the impact of the area's cold winters and drought-prone climate on the survival and reproduction of both the snail intermediate host Bulinus africanus and the intramolluscan stages of the parasite. The concept of an outbreak area is invoked to describe the occurrence of intense urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in localised areas for relatively short periods of up to 35 years in this the southernmost part of its range in Africa, a suboptimal environment for transmission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02dbbf186d2d4fcab9fa87df8036c79b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-02dbbf186d2d4fcab9fa87df8036c79b2025-08-20T03:53:51ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892012-01-011081/211 pages11 pages8164Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape?Chris Appleton0Inbarani Naidoo1University of KwaZulu-NatalMedical Research CouncilWe reviewed the early literature and maps of the occurrence of urogenital schistosomiasis (bilharzia) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from the 1860s until its decline from about 1900 and reappearance in 2002. Although this decline in transmission has received little attention to date, clinical descriptions of the disease over this period indicate that infection was common, probably patchy, although sometimes with severe morbidity. The long period of quiescence between 1900 and 2002 is thought to be as a result of several factors, but primarily because of the impact of the area's cold winters and drought-prone climate on the survival and reproduction of both the snail intermediate host Bulinus africanus and the intramolluscan stages of the parasite. The concept of an outbreak area is invoked to describe the occurrence of intense urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in localised areas for relatively short periods of up to 35 years in this the southernmost part of its range in Africa, a suboptimal environment for transmission.https://sajs.co.za/article/view/9930eastern capeurogenital schistosomiasisbilharziaschistosoma haematobiumbulinus africanusschistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybridoutbreak areahistory |
| spellingShingle | Chris Appleton Inbarani Naidoo Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? South African Journal of Science eastern cape urogenital schistosomiasis bilharzia schistosoma haematobium bulinus africanus schistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybrid outbreak area history |
| title | Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? |
| title_full | Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? |
| title_fullStr | Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? |
| title_short | Why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the Eastern Cape? |
| title_sort | why did schistosomiasis disappear from the southern part of the eastern cape |
| topic | eastern cape urogenital schistosomiasis bilharzia schistosoma haematobium bulinus africanus schistosoma haematobium/mattheei hybrid outbreak area history |
| url | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/9930 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chrisappleton whydidschistosomiasisdisappearfromthesouthernpartoftheeasterncape AT inbaraninaidoo whydidschistosomiasisdisappearfromthesouthernpartoftheeasterncape |