Since a donor-funded national schistosomiasis control programme in Mali finished in 1992, the organ-destroying worm disease that affects about 200 million people worldwide rebounded within 12 years, according to a recently published medical study [1].

The disease can affect the bladder, uterus, kidneys, liver, spleen and intestines.

Even though endemic communities in Mali received intensive treatment and health education on schistosomiasis from 1982-1992, the infection was still as widespread nationwide in 2004 as earlier decades, according to researchers.

Despite the 10-year programme, study leader Archie Clements from Australia’s The University of Queensland said control needs to be delivered even longer – “over a very long time period” – to have a lasting impact.

After Malian government funding for schistosomiasis ended in 1998, the disease received little attention until the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Schistosomiasis Control Initiative started in 2004.

[1] Clements, A.C.A. ... [et al]. (2009). A comparative study of the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis in Mali in 1984–1989 and 2004–2006. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ; vol. 3, no. 5 ; e431. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000431

Related websites: Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) ; WHO - Schistosomiasis ; CDC - Schistosomiasis

Source: IRIN, 08 May 2009

Tags: africa, water-related diseases