Name and Biology
Greek: schizein = divide; soma = body. The name refers to the fact that this genus, which formerly had been described as Bilharzia has two sexes in contrast to other Digenea.
This genus of the digenetic trematodes within the worm phylum Platyhelminthes (= flat worm) contains several species, which produce in contrast to the other hermaphroditic trematodes male and female individuals. The development of a single schistosomal worm includes several stages (adult worm, egg, miracidium, sporocysts, cercaria, schistosomulum), which parasitizes final hosts (humans, vertebrates) and intermediate hosts (water snails).
All Schistosoma species are not host specific, and thus some common and relevant species were presented here in two groups: (1) those which are important for humans and (2) those which are important for animals living close to humans. Their general life cycle is shown in Fig. 1.
Further Reading
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Gabriel S et al (2007) Perinatal priming of calves borne to Schistosoma mattheei-infected dams. Vet Parasitol 144:61–67
Gönnert R (1955) Schistosomiasis. Studien I, II. Z Tropenmed Parasitol 6:1–51
Hams E et al (2013) The Schistosoma granuloma: friend or foe? Front Immunol. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2013.00089.eCollection 2013
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Lemaitre M et al (2013) Coinfection with Plasmodium falciparum and Schistosoma heamatobium: additional evidence of the protective effect of schistosomiasis on malaria in Senegalese children. Am J Trop Med Hyg. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.12-0431
Liu R et al (2011) Efficacy of praziquantel and artemisinin derivates for the treatment and prevention of human schistosomiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Parasite Vectors 4:201–218
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Mehlhorn H et al (1982) Light and electron microscopical studies on Schistosoma mansoni granulomas following treatment with praziquantel. Trop Med Parasitol 33:229–239
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Ye Q et al (2013) In vitro cultivation of Schistosoma japonicum parasites and cells. Biotech Adv 31:1722–1737
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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). Schistosoma Species. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_2822-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_2822-2
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