Review of Bilharzia in Saudi Arabia, Health Reports and Solutions

Abstract

Bilharzia is an endemic illness caused by the Schistosoma worm, a genus of digenean trematodes. The Schistosoma life cycle contains two hosts, a human body which plays as definitive host and a mollusc as an intermediate host. Bilharzia prevalence is widely and more than 200 million people are infected annually. The adult worms inhabit the blood veins that drain certain organs of the human abdomen. The infection with S. mansoni and S. japonicum causes the intestinal Bilharzia while urinary Bilharzia resulted from S. haematobium infection. S. mekongi and S. intercalatum are both reported for causing Bilharzia but they are less commonly. Urinary Bilharzia has been documented in Saudi Arabia since 1887 and both S. haematobium and S. mansoni were reported as endemic. In 1967, more than million people were expected to be as Bilharzia infected in different Saudi regions. In 1973, the Saudi Ministry of Health established the Bilharzia Control Centers in the endemic provinces for control programs depend on chemotherapy, snails control and health education. The annual Saudi health reports recorded a significant decrease in the Bilharzia incidence in Saudi Arabia as a noticeable result for the control efforts.