VASA

22/04/2022

A recent study has shown the relationship between the density of snails in water and Schistosomiasis infection: the infection rate was lower when the snail population in the water was high due to competition for food resources, lowering their energy with their infectivity rate.

Check out more at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220228114346.htm

A new study shows that schistosome transmission can actually be highest when freshwater snail populations are low. This study demonstrates how the size of a freshwater snail population relates to its parasitic infection rate.

08/04/2022

Complexities on many of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) require coordinated and multipronged collaboration and decisive actions at global and community level to cope with the threats from NTDs, including ‘Schistosomiasis’.

“One health” which is the collective approach for action against Neglected Tropical Disease 2021-2013 launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to support the activities of health communities to achieve the 2030 targets through transdisciplinary and cross-cutting approaches.

Check out the latest webinar hosted by the WHO to concretise the actions for “One health” approach against NTDs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0hg73dgtiE

One Health is described as an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It re...

11/03/2022

WHO has launched a new road map for 2021-2030 aiming to end the suffering from NTDs by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The guideline will provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders on the implementation of national schistosomiasis control and elimination programme.

Find out more details on the WHO Guideline on control and elimination of human schistosomiasis:

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240041608

This guideline provides evidence-based recommendations in the following areas: prevalence thresholds, target age groups and frequency of PC, establishment of WASH and snail control activities to support control and elimination of schistosomiasis, diagnostic tests for the assessment of schistosomiasi...

02/03/2022

“The global COVID-19 pandemic has opened the world’s eyes to the devastating impact a single disease can have on every aspect of life. However, other diseases do not receive the same attention, and research into combating them is neglected. This applies to a range of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), one of which is Schistosomiasis: 240 million people suffer from this, with 200,000 dying each year.”

We can eliminate this disease with our collective efforts and partnership as seen the feasibility of it. Find out more at:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/01/we-can-eliminate-schistosomiasis-if-we-work-together/

Schistosomiasis is a disease that affects 240 million people worldwide. New evidence shows that with a joined-up approach it can be brought under control

24/01/2022

Schistosomiasis: large-scale treatment decreases prevalence by 60% among school-aged children.

Researchers have found that treating school aged children periodically with the drug Praziquantel (a medication used to treat Schistosomiasis and other parasitic worm infections) has decreased the prevalence of schistosomiasis by almost 60%.

https://www.who.int/news/item/03-12-2021-schistosomiasis-large-scale-treatment-decreases-prevalence-by-60-among-school-aged-children

17/11/2021

Schistosomiasis is a disease that has knock on effects for other public health concerns.

There are 2 major forms of schistosomiasis – intestinal and uroge***al. Women doing domestic chores in infested water, such as washing clothes, are also at risk and can develop female ge***al schistosomiasis.

And it is this Uroge***al form that is also considered to be a risk factor for HIV infection, especially in women.

According to research published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases; women with schistosomiasis had 3x increased risk in becoming infected with HIV, compared to women who did not carry the worms.

08/10/2021

Schistosomiasis is a disease caused when people come into contact with parasite infested water.

This affects communities that rely on these waters for agricultural, occupational and recreational activities.

Schistosomiasis is one of the most widespread of all parasitic infections of humans, with over 700 million people globally at risk of infection

20/09/2021

VASA's Sero-epidemiology training in our Betafo site in Madagascar.

28/07/2021

Learn some basic facts about Schistosomiasis, including its possible origins as far back as ancient Egypt, up to its discovery by German pathologist Theodore Maximilian Bilharz, in 1851.

Sadly, Schistosomiasis is a neglected disease, and we are still trying to work on treating the millions of people that are still affected by this disease today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqp91oQQnI0&ab_channel=Sightsavers

Schistosomiasis is an ancient neglected tropical disease (NTD), with millions of people globally at risk. It can cause a range of different unpleasant sympto...

24/06/2021

Schistosomiasis vaccine could be a safe and cost-effective option to lower morbidity and mortality from the schistosomiasis disease.

https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/ivi-to-design-adaptive-phase-ib-iia-trial-for-schistosomiasis-vaccine/

The IVI received a grant from Bill Foundation to design an adaptive protocol for a Phase Ib/IIa trial of a schistosomiasis vaccine.

01/06/2021

31/03/2021

Schistosomiasis can be usually treated with the drug Praziquantel. However, this can only be used once the worms have grown a bit, so only once someone has already been infected. It also does not prevent reinfection.

This is why the VASA project is working on delivering a vaccine so that we can be preventative towards Schistomiasis rather than reactive.

04/03/2021

Schistosomiasis affects many countries within South America, Africa and South-East Asia. This is Simeon's story, who is a part of a community of car-washers in Kenya's Lake Victoria, that can spend 9 hours in these waters every day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQbpgAdIMs

A community of car washers working in Lake Victoria, Kenya have some of the highest levels of infections of schistosomiasis in the world. Many from this com...

10/12/2020

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect the lives of more than 1 billion people worldwide and represent an often-overlooked global health burden that translates into lost opportunities – and lost lives.

https://weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/bilharzia-affects-240-million-people-we-can-eliminate-it/

But we can do something about this! Schistosomiasis is a treatable disease. have released an outline for how we can eliminate NTDs like schistosomiasis over the next decade.

https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/Ending-the-neglect-to-attain-the-SDGs--NTD-Roadmap.pdf

20/11/2020

Many congratulations to our own; Meta Roetsenberg, who has won the prestigious Bailey K. Ashford Medal🎖️👏🥳

03/11/2020

The vision at VASA is for a multidimensional approach to contributing to the elimination of Schistosomiasis:

https://www.vasaproject.net/about/mission-vision/

08/10/2020

an acute and chronic parasitic disease caused by blood flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma.

Human infection occurs when cercariae actively pe*****te the skin and enter the body. The larvae invade host blood vessels, develop into adult schistosomes and multiply.

Female, mature schistosomes release eggs into the bloodstream, which may then be excreted through urine or faeces and contaminate water sources, completing the schistosome life cycle.

Eggs that are not excreted can become lodged in human tissue and trigger immune reactions that result in clinical disease.

➡️ For more information on the disease, who it affects, and what we can do about it, visit our webpage: www.vasaproject.net

25/09/2020

A lovely and informative stop-motion video following the life cycle of Schistosoma, a life-threatening parasite that can live in water, snails and even people. Sadly the goal of eradicating Schistomiasis by 2020 has not been reached, which is why it is so important for us at VASA and other scientists around the world, to not only continue to educate the world on this disease, but to continue work in creating a vaccine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoo9T3emHIQ

Our stop-motion video follows the life cycle of Schistosoma, a life-threatening parasite that can live in water, snails and even people. Learn more about how...