HLTB21H3 : Snail Fever- detailed study guide
30 Apr 2011
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Document Summary
Examining stools and urine under light microscope to find eggs. Prevention: education, treatment, control of snail vector using molluscidies, provide safe water supply. Treatment: (1919) iv administration of antimony compound and (1929) injections of another compound, but both were toxic. Dr. c. barlow: volunteered for chemo trial and exposed himself to 224 cercariae. Eggs accumulate in organs blocking blood flow, causing tissue death. Symptoms depends of # of worms present. In tomb reliefs, there were images of fisherman/bargemen with enlarged abdomens (snail fever or blood fluke disease) Centuries of drought killed snails therefore city is free of disease. This disease existed in tropical and subtropical parts of world, and egypt since ancient times. Frequent irrigation of asgricultural land created conditions for blood fluke to transmit snail fever. Estimated 200 million ppl today infected = more than 1 mil deaths annually. Marc armand (1910) found calcified eggs of the blood fluke in kidneys of mummies.
