Researching Schistosomiasis in Tanzania

Dr. Jen Downs (far right) researches female urogenital schistosomiasis in rural areas of Tanzania.

In collaboration with physicians, students, and nurses at Bugando Medical Centre and Weill-Bugando University College of Health Sciences in Mwanza, Tanzania, Dr. Jennifer Downs, a fellow in Infectious Diseases at Weill-Cornell Medical College, is conducting research on schistosomiasis in order to develop effective strategies to diagnose and treat this disease in young women in Tanzania. Dr. Downs and her collaborators have found that the prevalence of schistosomiasis is approximately 20% in young women in rural villages in the Mwanza region.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that can damage the liver, kidneys, and other essential organs. It affects approximately 207 million people worldwide and has been declared “a major public health problem” by the World Health Organization (WHO).1 There is emerging evidence that schistosomiasis may increase the risk of HIV infection in women by causing inflammation in the genital tract. Approximately 45 million girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with schistosomiasis and may be at higher risk for HIV infection.2

Schistosomiasis is caused by helminths of the genus Schistosoma, and is acquired by contact with infested fresh water. The highest prevalence rates occur among children ages 5-15 in endemic countries, with 85% of worldwide infections arising in Africa.3 Schistosomiasis is typically conceptualized by physicians as a disease that damages the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, leading to deaths from kidney or liver failure and to long-term suffering related to urinary, intestinal, and gynecologic symptoms. In many cases, schistosomal infection is easily treatable with a single dose of the anti-helminth medication praziquantel, an intervention that now costs approximately $0.32 USD.4 Yet despite its prevalence and facile treatment, schistosomiasis remains widely underdiagnosed and undertreated, leading to its inclusion as one of the WHO’s Neglected Tropical Diseases.5 

           
References:
  1. World Health Organization. Weekly Epidemiological Record 2006; 81:145-64.
  2. WHO Working Group on Urogenital Schistosomiasis and HIV Infection. Accessed at: http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/integrated_media_urogenital_schist....
  3. van der Werf MJ et al. Acta Tropica 2003; 86:125-39.
  4. Hotez P et al. PLoS Neg Trop Dis 2009; 3:1-5.
  5. World Health Organization. Accessed at: http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/en.

Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Global Health 402 East 67th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10065 Phone: (646) 962-8140 Fax: (646) 962-0285