News / Health
Mission: mass treatment of bilharzia in Zimbabwe
25 Feb 2011 at 11:54hrs | Views
Zimbabwe will embark on a mass treatment of bilharzia and intestinal worms, after recording a high rate of infections last year.
The Head of Epidemiology and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Doctor Portia Manangazira, said the treatment is targeted at children who are aged between five years and fifteen years as well as the elderly since they are most affected by the disease.
Doctor Manangazira said they are formulating plans to assess priority areas as well as the quantities of medication required.
She pointed out that the Ministry aims to ensure that neglected tropical diseases such as bilharzia are given more attention since focus over the years has been on infectious diseases.
Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever) is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes (platyhelminth infection, or "flukes"), a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma.
Although it has a low mortality rate, schistosomiasis often is a chronic illness that can damage internal organs and, in children, impair growth and cognitive development. The urinary form of schistosomiasis is associated with increased risks for bladder cancer in adults. Schistosomiasis is the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease after malaria.
The disease affects many people in developing countries, particularly children who may acquire the disease by swimming or playing in infected water.
The Head of Epidemiology and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Doctor Portia Manangazira, said the treatment is targeted at children who are aged between five years and fifteen years as well as the elderly since they are most affected by the disease.
Doctor Manangazira said they are formulating plans to assess priority areas as well as the quantities of medication required.
She pointed out that the Ministry aims to ensure that neglected tropical diseases such as bilharzia are given more attention since focus over the years has been on infectious diseases.
Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever) is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes (platyhelminth infection, or "flukes"), a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma.
Although it has a low mortality rate, schistosomiasis often is a chronic illness that can damage internal organs and, in children, impair growth and cognitive development. The urinary form of schistosomiasis is associated with increased risks for bladder cancer in adults. Schistosomiasis is the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease after malaria.
The disease affects many people in developing countries, particularly children who may acquire the disease by swimming or playing in infected water.
Source - Byo24NEWS
