Interruption of schistosomiasis transmission in mountainous and hilly regions with an integrated strategy: a longitudinal case study in Sichuan, China.

Background: Schistosomiasis remains a major public health concern in China. Since 2004, an integrated strategy was developed to control the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum in China. However, the long-term effectiveness of this integrated strategy for the interruption of schistosomiasis transmission remains unknown in the mountainous and hilly regions of China until now.

[Evaluation on molluscicidal effect of chlorosalicylicamide on Oncomelania hupensis in schistosomiaisis endemic areas of eight provinces in China].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a novel molluscicide, the salt quinoid-2', 5-dichloro-4'-nitrosalicylanilide from niclosamide (LDS), with 10% wettable powder, in main schistosomiasis epidemic areas of China, including Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Zhejiang Province.

Methods: In the immersion test, 6 effective concentrations of 10% LDS were tested respectively: 0.1, 0.

[Establishment of index system of key factors on elimination of schistosomiasis].

Objective: To establish an index system of the key factors of elimination of schistosomiasis.

Methods: A questionnaire was designed based on the reference review, and 24 scientists working in the field of schistosomiasis control or research or management were investigated by using the Delphi method. The importance of each index reflecting the endemicity of schistosomiasis wis scored by each scientist.

[Mid-term evaluation on schistosomiasis control effect in Lushan earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan Province].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of schistosomiasis control in Lushan earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan Province, so as to provide the evidence for formulating appropriate measures for schistosomiasis prevention and control.

Methods: According to the data of historical schistosomiasis prevalence, 5 villages were selected as research sites and field investigations were conducted.

Results: The average density of Oncomelania hupensis snails was 0.

[Assessment of schistosomiasis transmission interruption in Beichuan County, Sichuan Province].

Objective: To assess whether Beichuan County reaches the national standard of schistosomiasis transmission interruption.

Methods: Three villages in Beichuan County were sampled as assessment spots, and the schistosomiasis infections of residents and domestic animals, the status of Oncomelania snails and the past records were assessed according to the Criteria for Control and Elimination of Schistosomiasis in China.

Results: No local schistosome infections were found in residents and cattle for successive 5 years and no snails were found for 2 successive years in the 3 villages.

[Risk assessment of schistosomiasis transmission in earthquake-stricken areas after the Lushan Earthquake in Sichuan Province on April 20, 2013].

Objective: To assess the impact of the "4 x 20" Lushan Earthquake on the risk of schistosomiasis transmission in Lushan and Tianquan counties, so as to provide the evidence for formulating appropriate measures for schistosomiasis prevention and control.

Methods: Based on a comprehensive literature review, an analysis of schistosomiasis monitoring data in the earthquake affected counties, and a field investigation, a rapid assessment on the impact of the earthquake on schistosomiasis was conducted.

Results: Lushan and Tianquan counties were two endemic areas of schistosomiasis with high transmission level in history, especially Lushan County where Oncomelania snail distribution/density was the highest in Sichuan Province.

Approaches to genotyping individual miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum.

Molecular genetic tools are needed to address questions as to the source and dynamics of transmission of the human blood fluke Schistosoma japonicum in regions where human infections have reemerged, and to characterize infrapopulations in individual hosts. The life stage that interests us as a target for collecting genotypic data is the miracidium, a very small larval stage that consequently yields very little DNA for analysis. Here, we report the successful development of a multiplex format permitting genotyping of 17 microsatellite loci in four sequential multiplex reactions using a single miracidium held on a Whatman Classic FTA indicating card.

[Surveillance of schistosome antibodies in population in mountainous schistosomiasis endemic regions in China].

Objective: To understand the dynamics of schistosome antibodies in population in mountainous schistosomiasis low endemic regions, China, so as to provide the evaluation reference for immunodiagnosis.

Methods: The people who consecutively received the indirect heamagglutination assay (IHA) for schistosomiasis and Kato-Katz technique were enrolled in this study in Guixiang Village, Danling County, Sichuan Province from 2006 to 2011. The positive rates for schistosome antibodies, antibody titers and eggs per gram (EPG) were analyzed.

[Effect of comprehensive control pattern on soil-transmitted nematodiasis in Danling County].

The comprehensive control pattern centering on health education, deworming and improving drinking water and lavatories was adopted to control soil-transmitted nematodiasis in Danling County, Sichuan Province from 2007-2009. In 2009, the infection rate of soil-transmitted nematodes decreased from 57.12% of the baseline survey in 2006 to 10.

[Investigation on current status of advanced schistosomiasis in Sichuan Province, 2010].

Objective: To understand the current distribution and characteristics of patients with advanced schistosomiasis in Sichuan Province, so as to provide the scientific evidence for improving the management and treatment of advanced schistosomiasis.

Methods: The patients who had been diagnosed as advanced schistosomiasis or were supposed with advanced schistosomiasis were the objects of the investigation. The epidemiological survey and medical examination were used to investigate these persons one by one according to the national standard.

A loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for a differential identification of Taenia tapeworms from human: application to a field survey.

In this study, we applied a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for identification of human Taenia tapeworms in Tibetan communities in Sichuan, China. Out of 51 proglottids recovered from 35 carriers, 9, 1, and 41 samples were identified as Taenia solium, Taenia asiatica and Taenia saginata, respectively. Same results were obtained afterwards in the laboratory, except one sample.

[Effect of ecological civilized homestead construction on schistosomiasis control].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Ecological Civilized Homestead Construction on schistosomiasis control.

Methods: The data of ecological civilized homestead construction and schistosomiasis control were collected and analyzed in Meiwan Village, Shuangqiao Town, Danling County, Sichuan Province from 2004 to 2010.

Results: Ecological Civilized Homestead Construction was carried out from 2004 to 2010.

[Surveillance of schistosomiasis in Sichuan Province, 2005-2010].

Objective: To understand the epidemic trend of schistosomiasis in Sichuan Province so as to provide the evidence for formulating schistosomiasis control strategy.

Methods: According to the National Schistosomiasis Surveillance Protocol, the national surveillance sites in Sichuan Province were selected. The schistosomiasis surveillance was carried out continuously from 2005 to 2010.

[Strengthening the achievements of schistosomiasis control in hilly regions of China].

In this paper we summarize the epidemiological characteristics, trends, and control achievements of schistosomiasis in hilly regions of China, as well as analyze the challenges of schistosomiasis control in these areas after transmission control, and further explore the control measures and strategies in the post-transmission control period to strengthen the control achievements and sustainable development with the ultimate goal of achieving transmission interruption.

[Control strategy of schistosomiasis and key points in the 12th Five-Year Plan in China].

Based on the objective of long- and mid-term development program for schistosomiasis control in China, the paper presents an analysis of strategy for schistosomiasis control and its function in the 12th Five-Year Plan. Meanwhile, the strategy and key elements of schistosomiasis control for recent years are put forward for different endemic areas.

Toward sustainable and comprehensive control of schistosomiasis in China: lessons from Sichuan.

Triggered by a fascinating publication in the New England Journal of Medicine detailing China's new multi-pronged strategy to control and eventually interrupt the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum, this PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Debate critically examines the generalizability and financial costs of the studies presented from the marshlands of the lake region. Edmund Seto from the University of California and colleagues emphasize that the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis varies according to the social-ecological context. They conjecture that the successful intervention packages piloted in the lake region is not fully fit for the hilly and mountainous environments in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and hence call for more flexible, setting-specific, and less expensive control strategies.

Compensatory density feedback of Oncomelania hupensis populations in two different environmental settings in China.

Background: The most recent strategy for schistosomiasis control in the People's Republic of China aims to reduce the likelihood of environmental contamination of schistosome eggs. Despite considerable progress, it is believed that achievements would be further consolidated with additional intermediate host snail control measures. We provide an empirical framework for discerning the relative contribution of intrinsic effects (density feedback) from other extrinsic drivers of snail population dynamics.

Genetic assignment methods for gaining insight into the management of infectious disease by understanding pathogen, vector, and host movement.

For many pathogens with environmental stages, or those carried by vectors or intermediate hosts, disease transmission is strongly influenced by pathogen, host, and vector movements across complex landscapes, and thus quantitative measures of movement rate and direction can reveal new opportunities for disease management and intervention. Genetic assignment methods are a set of powerful statistical approaches useful for establishing population membership of individuals. Recent theoretical improvements allow these techniques to be used to cost-effectively estimate the magnitude and direction of key movements in infectious disease systems, revealing important ecological and environmental features that facilitate or limit transmission.

A 5-year longitudinal study of schistosomiasis transmission in Shian village, the Anning River Valley, Sichuan Province, the Peoples' Republic of China.

Background: Schistosoma japonicum is a major public health concern in the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), with over one million people infected and another 50 million living in areas at risk of infection. Based on ecological, environmental, population genetic and molecular factors, schistosomiasis transmission in PRC can be categorised into four discrete ecosystems or transmission modes. It is predicted that the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) will impact upon the transmission of schistosomiasis in the PRC, with varying degree across the four transmission modes.

An agent-based model for control strategies of Echinococcus granulosus.

Cystic echinococcosis is a widespread zoonosis, caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The definitive hosts are carnivores and the intermediate hosts are grazing animals. Because humans are often accidentally infected with the cystic stage of the parasite, a control program is being developed for Western China.

Polymorphic microsatellites in the human bloodfluke, Schistosoma japonicum, identified using a genomic resource.

Re-emergence of schistosomiasis in regions of China where control programs have ceased requires development of molecular-genetic tools to track gene flow and assess genetic diversity of Schistosoma populations. We identified many microsatellite loci in the draft genome of Schistosoma japonicum using defined search criteria and selected a subset for further analysis. From an initial panel of 50 loci, 20 new microsatellites were selected for eventual optimization and application to a panel of worms from endemic areas.

Evaluation of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method using fecal specimens for differential detection of Taenia species from humans.

We compared the performance of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) with that of a multiplex PCR method for differential detection of human Taenia parasites in fecal specimens from taeniasis patients. The LAMP method, with no false positives, showed a higher sensitivity (88.4%) than the multiplex PCR (37.

Grass height and transmission ecology of Echinococcus multilocularis in Tibetan communities, China.

Background: Alveolar echinococcosis is a major zoonosis of public health significance in western China. Overgrazing was recently assumed as a potential risk factor for transmission of alveolar echinococcosis. The research was designed to further test the overgrazing hypothesis by investigating how overgrazing influenced the burrow density of intermediate host small mammals and how the burrow density of small mammals was associated with dog Echinococcus multilocularis infection.

Use of ultrasonography to evaluate Schistosoma japonicum-related morbidity in children, Sichuan Province, China, 2000-2007.

Liver ultrasonography is a convenient way to evaluate Schistosoma japonicum-related morbidity; however, no consensus standards exist, and data on use in Chinese children are scant. We describe 7 years of ultrasound findings in a prospective cohort of 151 children from an endemic area in Sichuan Province, China and evaluate technical aspects of the ultrasound methodology. Although prevalence of infection decreased over time, prevalence of hepatomegaly increased, which was likely caused by re-infections.