RT Book, Section A1 Langston, Shannon M. A1 Bales, Brian D. A2 Knoop, Kevin J. A2 Stack, Lawrence B. A2 Storrow, Alan B. A2 Thurman, R. Jason SR Print(0) ID 1181051483 T1 Schistosomiasis T2 The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e YR 2021 FD 2021 PB McGraw-Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781260134940 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1181051483 RD 2024/03/29 AB Over 200 million people worldwide are infected with schistosomiasis, with approximately 200,000 annual deaths. Transmission has been documented in over 75 tropical countries; it is considered the 2nd most devastating parasitic disease, behind malaria. Humans become infected by contact with blood flukes in contaminated freshwater, usually through bathing, swimming, fishing, or agricultural work. The infectious larval form of the worm, known as cercariae, penetrates the skin, develops into an adult, and deposits eggs causing a host immune response and tissue damage.