AUTHOR=Li Fei-Yue , Hou Xun-Ya , Tan Hong-Zhuan , Williams Gail M. , Gray Darren J. , Gordon Catherine A. , Kurscheid Johanna , Clements Archie C. A. , Li Yue-Sheng , McManus Donald P. TITLE=Current Status of Schistosomiasis Control and Prospects for Elimination in the Dongting Lake Region of the People’s Republic of China JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.574136 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.574136 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Schistosomiasis japonica is an ancient parasitic disease that has severely impacted human health causing a substantial disease burden not only to the Chinese people but also residents of other countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and, before the 1970s, Japan. Since the founding of the new People’s Republic of China (P. R. China), effective control strategies have been implemented with the result that the prevalence of schistosomiasis japonica has decreased markedly in the past 70 years. Historically, the Dongting Lake region in Hunan province is recognised as one of the most highly endemic for schistosomiasis in the P.R. China. The area is characterized by vast marshlands outside the lake embankments and, until recently, the presence of large numbers of domestic animals such as bovines, goats and sheep that can act as reservoir hosts for