title: Elimination of schistosomiasis japonica from formerly endemic areas in mountainous regions of southern China using a praziquantel regimen.
abstract: Schistosomiasis japonica is a major public health problem in China. Domestic animals play a major role in the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum to humans. To better understand the epidemiology of schistosomiasis japonica in domestic animals in the mountainous areas of China, we performed a 5-year longitudinal study of schistosomiasis in cattle and horses in Yunnan Province from 2009 to 2013. We also performed a concurrent drug-based intervention study in three settlement groups in Yunnan Province aimed at developing an effective means of controlling transmission in this region. The prevalence of infection in cattle fluctuated between 1.67% and 3.05% from 2009 to 2011, and monthly treatments of schistosome-positive animals reduced the prevalence to 0% (P<0.05) from 2012 to 2013. Prior to the intervention, we found that schistosomiasis was prevalent from May to October, with the highest prevalence observed in June (10.00%). We surveyed for environmental schistosome contamination, and 94.29% of the miracidia found were from cattle. Our study showed that it is possible to eliminate schistosomiasis in domestic animals in the mountainous regions of China by monthly treating cattle and horses from schistosome-positive households from May to October.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming 650051, Yunnan, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-Dong
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China. Electronic address: jimyliu@shvri.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jin-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Weishan County Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Weishan 672400, Yunnan, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Xing
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yao-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming 650051, Yunnan, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying-Guo
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ya-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-feng
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis Control/Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, P.R. China; Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou 225009, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiao-Jiao
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D011223:Praziquantel
keywords: Domestic animal; Drug-based intervention; Mountainous area; Schistosoma japonicum