Schistosoma Mansoni

Schistosoma Mansoni General Information

Bilharzia is a more common clinical term for a widely spread parasitic clinical condition known as Schistosomiasis. The presence of this medical illness is known to be caused by some types of trematodes that belong to the Schistosoma genus. Humans are known to be prone to developing such medical infections due to the presence of one of 4 of the most common species of Schistoma trematodes. They are: S. japonicum, S. mekongi Schistosoma Mansoni (these three are known to affect the patient’s intestines, causing an intestinal form of Schistomiasis), and also S. Haematobium (which causes the urinary form of Schistomiasis).

Schistosoma Mansoni is the clinical term for a common parasite that is able to affect humans. This type of pathogen is one of the most important species that are responsible for the development of Schistosomiasis. The disorder that the presence of this pathogen triggers bears the same clinical name. The life cycle of this parasite is known to include the presence of at least 2 hosts: a definitive one (in most cases, a human), where the pathogen reproduces sexually and an intermediate host (in most cases, a snail), where the pathogen reproduces asexually. This medical condition was given its name in the honor of the discoverer of its pathogen, Sir Patrick Manson.

This parasite is commonly encountered in parts of South America (Brazil, Venezuela, and so on), Madagascar, Africa, West Indies, Puerto Rico, and so on. This clinical condition is the second human parasitic disease (after malaria). This medical disorder is considered an endemic one in about 76 developing states. Almost 200 million individuals that work in the rural agriculture are suffering from this clinical condition and over 600 million individuals are at risk of developing it at any time.

Schistosoma Mansoni Symptoms

Although many clinical cases of infected patients with the parasite that causes Schistosoma Mansoni do not present any unpleasant symptoms and / or clinical manifestations. In the case of patients who present the distinctive adverse reactions of this disease, they are known to generally appear after a month after the patient’s organism has been infected with the pathogen. Feeling of illness is the first clinical symptom of this medical disorder. Within the first twelve hours after the patient has been infected with the parasite, he or she may start to complain of the presence of “swimmer’s itch”, a tingling sensation that is commonly accompanied by a light rash. This symptom is due to irritation at the point where the parasite has entered your organism. The rash that such an individual develops is known to commonly mimic scabies or any other types of rashes. Several weeks after the individual has become infected with Schistosoma Mansoni may start developing the following clinical manifestations: gland enlargement, cough, aching, fever, and so on.

Katayama fever is a common medical disorder that may be triggered by an infection with this parasite. This medical condition is challenging to recognize as its symptoms only include bronchospasms, urticaria, spleen enlargement, liver enlargement, and so on. In the intestinal form of Schistosomiasis that is also caused by the presence of an infection with the Schistosoma Mansoni parasite the patient will develop symptoms such as: liver high blood pressure, fluid in the abdominal area, esophageal varices, enlarged spleen, and so on. This medical disorder is very severe, as it can easily lead to several life threatening complications. In rarer cases, the patient’s central nervous system is affected. The chronic form of this medical disorder triggers other unusual symptoms.

Schistosoma Mansoni Treatment

In order to diagnose the presence of this infectious medical disorder (that is caused by the Schistosoma Mansoni parasite) the patient will have to submit stool samples. If in his or her stool samples one can find the presence of this parasite’s eggs, then the individual is surley suffering from this infectious clinical illness. The eggs that are laid by this type of parasite are known to be about 140 µm long. They present a lateral spine. Another way of diagnosing this medical disorder is through the Kato-Katz technique (that requires the presence of 20 to 50 g of fecal waste).

Parasite eggs can also be found in the patient’s urine samples. The detection of their presence will be greatly enhanced through an adjacent examination of the sediment that has remained after the individual’s urine sample has undergone a through centrifugation. With the help of a special filtration membrane (generally called a nucleopore membrane) the quantification of the eggs may be easily acquired. Another medical evaluation that is widely employed in the diagnosis of this infectious disorder (caused by the Schistosoma Mansoni parasite) is the taking of a tissue biopsy (in such cases, the most common biopsy is the rectal one). Although the urine or stool sample testing may not provide accurate results, this special diagnosing procedure (option) may prove to be much more effective. Other employed clinical techniques include alkaline phosphatase immunoassay (commonly abbreviated as APIA), circumoval precipitation test (commonly abbreviated as COPT), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (commonly abbreviated as ELISA), and so on.

The most common medical products that have proven their effectiveness in the fight against Schistosoma Mansoni include Praziquantel and Oxamniquine. These medicines are known to be effective if employed in the treatment of almost any type of Schistosomiasis disease. Although scientists believe that their safety and effectiveness are very similar, Praziquantel is more commonly employed in the therapy against this clinical condition (this is probably due to its lower cost per therapy). Patients who want to start using Praziquantel in order to manage their infectious disease that was caused by Schistosoma Mansoni should start an intake with about 60mg of medicine per kg of body weight of the patient (if the individual is younger than 15 years of age). Adult patient should take in regular doses of 50 mg of medicine per body weight kg. A therapy with the other medication, Oxamniquine, involves the intake of 15mg of drug per every kg of the adult patient’s body weight; children should use doses of 20 mg of medicine per kg of body weight.

The most common therapy against the infectious disease that is due to Schistosoma Mansoni represents a single dose therapy. The objective of the treatment trial is to provide the patient with a cure for his or her medical condition. In the case of individuals who are suffering from the chronic form of this clinical illness, the objective of the therapy is to prevent the disease from further evolving (worsening).