title: Potential schistosomiasis foci in China: a prospective study for schistosomiasis surveillance and response.
abstract: Schistosomiasis japonica was endemic in 12 provinces (including municipalities and autonomous regions) in the People's Republic of China (PR China). Despite the tremendous decrease of schistosomiasis incidence after almost 60 years of control, the distribution of snail-breeding sites has not been reduced significantly. In order to verify current transmission risks and identify the potential establishment of new foci of schistosomiasis driven by environmental changes, we conducted surveillance in selected risk areas of three provinces: Jiangsu, Anhui and Shandong from 2008 to 2010 in addition to routine snail surveillance. We investigated populations and possible reservoirs in sentinel sites and report that the total number of new acute cases did not diminish further in spite of ongoing control activities. In Anhui Province the local count compared to the national count was 43% (19/44) in 2008, 33% (25/75) in 2009 and 40% (17/42) in 2010. In all, 31.58 km(2) areas of snail breeding sites were newly detected nationwide through the year 2008-2010, of which the proportion of Anhui was 42% (5.03/11.98) in 2008, 95% (8.39/8.79) in 2009 and 79% (8.52/10.81) in 2010. Sentinel surveillance showed eight, nine and five confirmed cases of acute schistosomiasis in mobile populations (fishermen, migrant workers) in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. All these cases were detected in Chaohu County, which must therefore be deemed an area at risk. We conclude that continuous surveillance with an emphasis on snails must be enhanced in potential risk areas in PR China.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Ying-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Zhu
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Schistosomiasis, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Institute of Schistosomiasis, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Anhui Provincial Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuhu, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Guo
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Jining, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miu
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Ingerod 407, Brastad, Sweden.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bergquist
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: xiaonongzhou1962@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xiao-Nong
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D057231:Climate Change; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004777:Environment; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Climate change; New foci; PR China; Risk; Schistosomiasis; Surveillance and response