Acute human schistosomiasis mansoni

Abstract

The acute schistosomiasis is the toxemic disease that follow the Schistosoma cercariae active penetration trough screen in the immunologicaly naive vertebrate host. The clinical picture starts two to eight weeks after the first contact with the contaminated water. Susceptible patients present a syndrome comprising fever, diarrhea, toxemia and hepatosplenomegaly. Diagnosis is based on epidemiological and clinical features, presence of Schistosoma eggs in the feces, enlargement of abdominal lymph nodes by ultrasonography and by detection of high antibodies levels against the antigen keyhole limpet haemocyanin. Different rates of cure have been observed with specific medication and for the most severe clinical presentations the use of steroids reduces the systemic and allergic manifestations.

Acute schistosomiasis outbreak in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais: alert about the risk of unnoticed transmission increased by growing rural tourism

“…Accelerating migration from the countryside to cities threatened to overwhelm existing water and sanitation systems, and to increase urban schistosomiasis (Suassuna & Coura 1969, Sturrock 2001. In Brazil outbreaks of acute schistosomiasis, especially in urban areas, were observed and documented with a certain frequency (Ferreira et al 1960, 1966, Coura et al 1970, Neves 1992, Rabello 1995, Barbosa et al 2001. The increase of acute schistosomiasis cases also indicates that a non-immune fraction of the population (people from metropolitan, non-endemic areas with no acquired immunity) became exposed to the disease.…”

“…The most common manifestations are fever, general weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, unproductive cough, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly and skin reactions accompanied by a marked eosinophilia (Neves 1992, Rabello 1995.…”

Circulating Antigens Levels in Different Clinical Forms of the Schistosoma mansoni Infection

“…Diagnosis was based on epidemiological and clinical features, after an average of 50 days of water contact, the presence of S. mansoni eggs in stools was determined by Kato-Katz method (Katz et al 1972), or the qualitative sedimentation method (Hoffman et al 1934) and the presence of high levels of IgG anti-KLH or IgA anti-SEA (Rabello 1995.…”

“…Clinical acute schistosomiasis may commonly develop in the immunologically naive vertebrate host (Rabello 1995). Six to eight weeks after the initial contact with water infested by schistosome cercariae, infected patients present fever, toxemia, weakness, weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cough, myalgia, arthralgia, urticaria, edema, and enlargement of the liver and spleen.…”

“…Six to eight weeks after the initial contact with water infested by schistosome cercariae, infected patients present fever, toxemia, weakness, weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cough, myalgia, arthralgia, urticaria, edema, and enlargement of the liver and spleen. These clinical manifestations vary in intensity from relatively mild to severe and are easily confused with other syndromes with hepatosplenic involvement as infection by Salmonela sp., malaria and hepatitis (Neves 1965, Lambertucci 1993, Rabello 1995.…”