Workshop proposed by: FIND

Languages: English (1), French (2)

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic "worm" infection that is carried by freshwater snails. The disease affects 250 million people worldwide. It is part of a group of diseases called Neglected Tropical Diseases which affect the poorest and most marginalized communities. People become infected when they come into contact with fresh water infested with the young worms while carrying out daily, routine activities (e.g. Bathing, washing clothes, playing in the water etc.). The young worms will enter the skin and mature into adult worms where they will live in the blood vessels around the bladder and the intestines. The female adult worm will begin to lay her eggs – about 200 per day, some of which will be trapped in the tissues whilst others will be passed through the urine and/or stools. The great news is that we can treat this disease, however, we need to have the proper diagnostic tools to do it – so that patients can be identified and treated.

The session will be broken down into 3 different parts: i) provide background information on the disease and how national health programs in endemic countries are tackling the disease – this will be done through an interactive presentation and games, ii) we will then have some hands-on experience – and be lab technicians – looking at how we diagnose the disease and finally, iii) I will give a brief overview of what we are doing at FIND to tackle the disease through the development of a new, easy-to-use diagnostic test.

Workshop presented by: Sarah Nogaro & Devy Emperador