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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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B
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Bilharzia
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1992-09-03
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Bilharzia, or schistosomiasis Disease that
causes anaemia, inflammation, formation of
scar tissue, dysentery, enlargement of the
spleen and liver, and cirrhosis of the liver.
It is contracted by bathing in water
contaminated with human sewage. Some 300
million people are thought to suffer from
this disease in the tropics. Freshwater
snails that live in this water act as host to
the first larval stage of flukes of the genus
Schistosoma; when these larvae leave the
snail in their second stage of development,
they are able to pass through human skin,
become sexually mature, and produce
quantities of eggs, which pass to the
intestine or bladder. The human host
eventually dies of the infestation, but
before then numerous eggs have passed from
the body in urine or faeces to continue the
cycle. Treatment is by means of drugs,
usually containing antimony, to kill the
parasites.