Schistosomiasis symptoms

Following infection, there can be a skin rash in the area penetrated by the parasite, which tends to last for a few days. 

The acute form of the disease is known as Katayama fever, and tends to present with fever, muscular pain, headache, abdominal pain, fatigue, an increase in the size of the liver and an increase in the eosinophils in the blood.    

In other cases, the disease presents in a chronic form as a consequence of the body’s reaction to the presence of parasites in the organs.  

In urogenital schistosomiasis, there is typically blood in the urine (haematuria), and in the long term it is associated with infertility or bladder cancer.  

In digestive schistosomiasis, the parasite lodges itself in the liver or the intestines, which causes chronic abdominal pain, diarrhoea or constipation, the presence of blood in the faeces and also affects the liver.