Parasitic Worm Consumes Female Reproductive Organs

A parasitic helminth eats its way into the female internal reproductive organs inflicting considerable damage, and making them particularly vulnerable to infection.

The parasitic disease, commonly known as snail fever, or schistosomiasis, which is transmitted via parasites in the water, was until recently thought to cause chronic illness, but damage to the reproductive systems was slight.

A Danish study from Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen (LIFE; Copenhagen, Denmark), shows that what the parasite does is to lay eggs in the reproductive organs, resulting in chronic infection. This infection causes perforations or sores in the woman's uterine tissues. For many of the millions of women who have been repeatedly infected with the parasite, it is not actually possible to do anything once the damage has been done.

The field study, carried out on Madagascar, shows that the parasite also inflicts considerable damage to women's reproductive organs, making them particularly vulnerable to infection. There was a connection between the illness and infertility and though men are also infected, they have fewer symptoms than women do. The scientists revealed that there is an infectious reaction and saw that the infected cells are spread through the man's semen. The prevalence of schistosomiasis on the island is estimated as 2.5 million infected people.

Niels Ørnbjerg, D.Sc., director of Veterinary Disease Biology at LIFE, said, "We know that 200 million people are already infected with the parasite. What we did not know before now was that over the years the parasite causes sores in the woman's reproductive organs, which makes it easier for infections such as HIV to take hold.” Birgitte J. Vennervald, M.D., a senior researcher on the project said, "For many of the millions of women who have been repeatedly infected with the parasite, it is not actually possible to do anything once the damage has been done. However, the prospects look slightly brighter for younger women where the parasite has not yet disappeared from the body."

Early clinical manifestations of schistosomiasis are urticaria, fever and eosinophilia. Later, dysuria, hematuria and obstructive nephropathy or hepatosplenomegaly and portal hypertension may appear. Microscopic identification of eggs in stool or urine is the most practical method for diagnosis. Urinary form is often complicated by bladder cancer in advanced cases, as the parasite may survive for decades in human host. There are recurrent reports of outbreaks among immigrants and travelers who have been in infected water sources in the tropics.

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