56 Health Problems from Unsafe Water
Blood flukes (schistosomiasis, bilharzia, snail fever)
This infection is caused by a kind of worm that gets into the blood through the
skin after wading, washing, or swimming in contaminated water. The illness
can cause serious harm to the liver and kidneys, and may lead to death after
months or years. Women have a greater risk of infection from blood flukes
because they spend a lot of time in and around water — collecting it, washing
clothes, and bathing children.
Sometimes there are no early signs. A common sign in some areas is blood
in the urine or in the feces. It can also cause genital sores in women. In areas
where this illness is very common, even people with only mild signs or belly
pain should be tested.
Blood flukes spread like this:
1. Infected person urinates
or defecates in water.
2. U rine or feces has
worm eggs in it.
3. Worm eggs hatch,
and worms go
into snails.
4. Young worms leave
snail and go into
another person.
5. In this way, someone who washes or swims in water where an
infected person has urinated or defecated also becomes infected.
Treatment
Blood flukes are best treated with medicines. See a health worker about which
medicines to use, or a general health book such as Where There Is No Doctor.
Genital sores and blood in the urine are also signs of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs). Some women will not seek treatment because they are afraid
they will be blamed for having an STI. Lack of treatment can cause other
serious infections and can make women infertile (unable to become pregnant).
Prevention
Blood flukes are not passed directly from one person to another. For part of
their life, the blood flukes must live inside a certain kind of small water snail.
Community programs can be organized to kill these snails and prevent blood
flukes. These programs work only if people follow the most basic preventive
step: never urinate or defecate in or near water.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012