Schistosomiasis: water, sanitation and hygiene together with donated praziquantel make elimination possible

ATLANTA—Schistosomiasis — also known as bilharzia — could be eliminated from Africa and elsewhere by using two actions together: making simple improvements in water-supply sanitation and hygiene and treating infected children with free praziquantel — recently made available by the manufacturers. At the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual conference Alan Fenwick, Professor of Tropical Parasitology at Imperial College in London, chaired a symposium reviewing the latest evidence about practical ways of achieving success against this parasitic disease. He discussed the conclusions with Peter Goodwin.