Social Impacts
Individuals at risk to infection from S. japonicum are farmers who often wade in their irrigation water, fisherman that wade in streams and lakes, children that play in water, and people who wash clothes in streams.
Ablution is a religious requirement in some Moslem countries to achieve cleanliness by washing of the anal or urethral orifices after urination or defecation. However, this act leads to the transmission of schistosomiasis. The water source typically used for ablution is a contaminated river or canal from previously deposited human waste, thus furthering the contamination in the population.
Important factors to influence transmission are age, sex of an individual, as well as the economic and educational level of a population. Males show the highest rates of infection, as well as the most intense infections. This may be due to occupational risk. As was the case of Suriname, the highest prevalence occurs in both sexes where both male and females work in fields.
Climate change may have potential impact on the transmission of schistosomiasis in China. The development of S. japonicum in the intermediate host Oncomelania hupensis occurred at the threshold of 15.4°C. Previously, O. hupensis has been restricted to areas where the mean January temperature has been over 0°C. With rising climate change, it is predicted that by 2050, O. hupensis will be able to cover 8.1% of the surface area of China, thus leading to greater concern to new populations being at risk to schistosomiasis.
Read more about this topic: Schistosoma Japonicum
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