Schistosomiasis among Travelers: New Aspects of an Old Disease

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Meltzer, Eyal ; Artom, Galit ; Marva, Esther ; Assous, Marc Victor ; Rahav, Galia ; Schwartz, Eli
• Description:
  Schistosomiasis is increasingly encountered among travelers returning from the tropics; signs and symptoms of travelers may differ from those of local populations. During 1993-2005, schistosomiasis was diagnosed in 137 Israeli travelers, most of whom were infected while in sub-Saharan Africa. Clinical findings compatible with acute schistosomiasis were recorded for 75 (66.4%) patients and included fever (71.3%), respiratory symptoms (42.9%), and cutaneous symptoms (45.2%). At time of physical examination, 42 patients (37.1%) still had symptoms of acute schistosomiasis, chronic schistosomiasis had developed in 23 (20.4%), and 48 (42.5%) were asymptomatic. Of patients who were initially asymptomatic, chronic schistosomiasis developed in 26%. Diagnosis was confirmed by serologic testing for 87.6% of patients, but schistosome ova were found in only 25.6%. We conclude that acute schistosomiasis is a major clinical problem among travelers, diagnostic and therapeutic options for acute schistosomiasis are limited, and asymptomatic travelers returning from schistosomiasis-endemic areas should be screened and treated.
• Subjects:
  Acute Disease Adult Chronic Disease Female Humans Male Praziquantel Schistosomiasis Travel
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 12(11):1696-1700.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  11
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:521db7c91b45fa3e0aac7071ddf7784185087ff4f129487170ba45db555a1833
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/16283/cdc_16283_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 102.00 KB ]