BACK TO BASICS: UCSB's Marine Science Institute Proves an 'Old-Fashioned' Method is the Most Effective in Managing Parasitic Disease Schistosomiasis

Content: 

When it comes to eliminating schistosomiasis — a persistent disease cause by parasitic flatworms — controlling their host snails is key, according to a team of researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Stanford University. Their findings appear in PLoS NTDs.

“In short, we urge a reorientation of disease elimination strategies to bring prevention into the picture,” said UCSB parasitologist Armand Kuris, who has been studying the parasite and its behavior for decades.

Also known as snail fever, schistosomiasis affects more that 250 million people worldwide, typically in areas with poor sanitation, where people regularly come in contact with contaminated fresh water and the worm’s larval form.

Photo: 

Native prawns play a huge role in the novel schistosomiasis eradication effort. Photo Credit: Susanne Sokolow

News Date: 

Thursday, July 21, 2016