Guest edited by David Rollinson, Jutta Reinhard-Rupp, Robert Bergquist and Xiao-Nong Zhou
An article collection in Infectious Diseases of Poverty.
Considerable progress is being made in many endemic countries to reduce morbidity and prevalence of both urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis. National schistosomiasis control programmes in Africa have for the most part depended on donated drugs and external financial support for implementation. Delegates to the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly, who adopted resolution WHA65.21 on the elimination of schistosomiasis, called for greater action. They encouraged Member States to take advantage of other on-going activities to intensify schistosomiasis control programmes and to initiate elimination campaigns where appropriate, through strengthened health systems, preventive chemotherapy, provision of water and sanitation, as well as hygiene education and snail control.
Hence it was timely that on 14 June 2016, leading experts in the control and elimination of schistosomiasis from around the world gathered in Shanghai to advance the WHO’s goal of worldwide elimination of the disease along with a number of other neglected tropical diseases. Organized by the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance (GSA), the two-day meeting brought together health specialists, research scientists and control programme managers to review current progress and to discuss such topics as new drugs, mapping the transmission of the disease and alternative control strategies. This special issue draws together some of the ideas presented at the meeting and helps focus attention on the research gaps that need to be filled in order to achieve elimination targets.
This collection of articles has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Guest Editors declare no competing interests.