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It was written in 1958 to celebrate the country’s victory over snail fever, a disease that blighted the lives of many millions of people in China (and still afflicts thousands).—The Economist,
11 June 2020 Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever and bilharzia, is a parasitic worm infection that slowly destroys the kidneys and liver.—The Economist,
23 June 2018 Schistosomiasis is sometimes called bilharzia or snail fever because the illness-causing larvae spend their nights tucked away in the shells of snails in freshwater lakes.—
Heather Murphy,
New York Times,
1 Mar. 2018
Word History
Etymology
from the snails which serve as intermediate hosts to the schistosomes causing the disease