schistosomiasis

noun

schis·​to·​so·​mi·​a·​sis ˌshi-stə-sō-ˈmī-ə-səs 

plural schistosomiases ˌshi-stə-sō-ˈmī-ə-ˌsēz 

: infestation with or disease caused by schistosomes

specifically : a severe endemic disease of humans in Africa and parts of Asia and South America that is contracted when cercariae released into fresh water (such as a river) by a snail intermediate host penetrate the skin and that is marked especially by blood loss and tissue damage

called also snail fever

Examples of schistosomiasis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the press release, the flatworm can cause canine schistosomiasis, which affects dogs' liver and intestines. —Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024

Think twice: Mystery dog illness in L.A. spurs warnings by officials Nov. 22, 2023 The professor noted that there was an outbreak of canine schistosomiasis in Moab, Utah, in 2018. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024

Eventually, the number grew to 11 dogs from five households across three counties infected between 2018 and 2023 with canine schistosomiasis, with seven from Orange County. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024

Malaria too was likely endemic in ancient Egypt and Nubia, alongside other diseases such as leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis. —Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024

The snails release schistosomiasis larvae, which can penetrate the skin of any human swimming or bathing in contaminated water and trigger all sorts of nasty health problems (including, rarely but often enough, death). —Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024

Eradication is now a possibility for malaria, thanks to new vaccines, but no schistosomiasis vaccine exists. —Christopher B. Barrett, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2023

Take schistosomiasis, which is caused by parasitic worms living in fresh water in the tropics. —Christopher B. Barrett, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2023

For example, if a pharmaceutical company developed an innovative treatment for schistosomiasis, it could be granted an extension on a patent for a profitable drug that treats erectile dysfunction. —Christopher B. Barrett, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

schistosome or its source, New Latin Schistosoma + -iasis

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

schistosomiasis

noun

schis·​to·​so·​mi·​a·​sis ˌshis-tə-sō-ˈmī-ə-səs  ˌskis- 

plural schistosomiases -ˌsēz 

: infestation with or disease caused by schistosomes

specifically : a severe endemic disease of humans in much of Africa and parts of Asia and South America that is caused by any of three trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma (S. haematobium, S. mansoni, and S. japonicum) which multiply in snail intermediate hosts and are disseminated into freshwaters as furcocercous cercariae that bore into the body when it is in contact with infested water, migrate through the tissues to the visceral venous plexuses (as of the bladder or intestine) where they attain maturity, and cause much of their injury through hemorrhage and damage to tissues resulting from the passage of the usually spiny eggs to the intestine and bladder whence they pass out to start a new cycle of infection in snail hosts

called also bilharzia, bilharziasis, snail fever

compare swimmer's itch