Please cite this article in press as: Rollinson, D. et al., Time to set the agenda for schistosomiasis elimination. Acta Trop. (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2012.04.013 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model ACTROP-2899; No. of Pages 18 Acta Tropica xxx (2012) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Acta Tropica journa l h o me pa g e: www.elsevier.com/locate/actatropica Time to set the agenda for schistosomiasis elimination David Rollinson a,∗ , Stefanie Knopp b,c , Sarah Levitz a , J. Russell Stothard d , Louis-Albert Tchuem Tchuenté e,f,g , Amadou Garba b,c,h , Khalfan A. Mohammed i , Nadine Schur b,c , Bobbie Person j , Daniel G. Colley k , Jürg Utzinger b,c a Wolfson Wellcome Biomedical Laboratories, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box, CH–4002 Basel, Switzerland c University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland d Centre for Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK e National Programme for the Control of Schistosomiasis and Intestinal Helminthiasis, Ministry of Public Health, Yaoundé, Cameroon f Laboratory of Parasitology and Ecology, University of Yaoundé, Yaoundé, Cameroon g Centre for Schistosomiasis and Parasitology, P.O. Box 7244, Yaoundé, Cameroon h Programme National de Lutte Contre la Bilharziose et les Géohelminthes, Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Lutte Contre les Endémies, Niamey, Niger i Helminth Control Laboratory Unguja, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 236, Zanzibar, Tanzania j Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA k Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases and Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Available online xxx This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr Likezo Mubila who passed away on 4 August 2011. Likezo was a strong voice for the control of neglected tropical diseases in Africa. She was central to WHO African Region activities and a greatly respected friend and colleague of many involved in helminth control. A few days before her untimely death, Likezo made a great effort to attend and contribute to the launch of “Tokomeza Kichocho” (roughly translated as “Eliminate Schistosomiasis”) on Pemba Island, Zanzibar. Keywords: Schistosomiasis Schistosoma haematobium Schistosoma japonicum Schistosoma mansoni Morbidity control Transmission control Elimination a b s t r a c t It is time to raise global awareness to the possibility of schistosomiasis elimination and to support endemic countries in their quest to determine the most appropriate approaches to eliminate this persistent and debilitating disease. The main interventions for schistosomiasis control are reviewed, including pre- ventive chemotherapy using praziquantel, snail control, sanitation, safe water supplies, and behaviour change strategies supported by information, education and communication (IEC) materials. Differences in the biology and transmission of the three main Schistosoma species (i.e. Schistosoma haematobium, S. mansoni and S. japonicum), which impact on control interventions, are considered. Sensitive diagnostic procedures to ensure adequate surveillance in areas attaining low endemicity are required. The impor- tance of capacity building is highlighted. To achieve elimination, an intersectoral approach is necessary, with advocacy and action from local communities and the health community to foster cooperative ven- tures with engineers, the private sector, governments and non-governmental organizations specialized in water supply and sanitation. Examples of successful schistosomiasis control programmes are reviewed to highlight what has been learnt in terms of strategy for control and elimination. These include St. Lucia and other Caribbean islands, Brazil and Venezuela for S. mansoni; Saudi Arabia and Egypt for both S. mansoni and S. haematobium; Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritius and the Islamic Republic of Iran for S. haematobium; Japan and the People’s Republic of China for S. japonicum. Additional targets for elim- ination or even eradication could be the two minor human schistosome species S. guineenisis and S. intercalatum, which have a restricted distribution in West and Central Africa. The examples show that elimination of schistosomiasis is an achievable and desirable goal requiring full integration of preventive chemotherapy with the tools of transmission control. An agenda for the elimination of schistosomia- sis would aim to identify the gaps in knowledge, and define the tools, strategies and guidelines that will help national control programmes move towards elimination, including an internationally accepted mechanism that allows verification/confirmation of elimination. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Cast an eye back to the Lancet in 1919 and you will find two authoritative articles, one by Hamilton Fairley and a second by ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 207 942 5181. E-mail address: d.rollinson@nhm.ac.uk (D. Rollinson). Christopherson, accompanied by an optimistic editorial on the treatment and prevention of bilharziasis (schistosomiasis). Fol- lowing the then recent discovery that the schistosome life-cycle involved freshwater molluscs, and with only antimonium tartara- tum for treatment, the Lancet editorial put forth that “By a judicious campaign against mollusks especially in a country like Egypt where the water supplies are all under control, it is now quite within the bounds of possibility that the disease may be largely controlled, if not actually stamped out” (Annon., 1919). 0001-706X/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2012.04.013