Schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic disease caused by a trematode blood fluke of the genus
Schistosoma that belongs to the Schistosomatidae family. It is a neglected disease in different regions
of Asia. In this review, 218 articles (between 2000 and 2017) related to the topic were collected
from PubMed and Google scholar and reviewed. After thoroughly reading collected articles, due to irrelevant
topic requirements, 94 articles were excluded. Articles that have data associated with Asian
regions are considered. In Asia, the disease is prevalent in China, Philippines, Indonesia, Yemen, Nepal
and Laos, etc. While in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, the disease is not endemic and very few
cases were reported. The disease was eliminated from Japan and Iran. The current review highlights
the geographical distribution among Asian countries, transmission patterns, diagnosis, control strategies
based on the use of anthelmintic plants and management practices implemented in Asia for the
control of schistosomiasis. However, new implementations to treat schistosomiasis in humans should
be proved to eliminate the disease finally in the future. This review emphasizes the biological control
of schistosomiasis for the eradication of the disease from Asia in the near future.
Noma, a neglected disease: A viewpoint article
