Schistosomiasis is a tropical disease caused by a parasitic flatworm that is transmitted to humans through contact with freshwater sources such as lakes and slow-moving rivers. It is estimated to affect around 250 million people every year and more than 700 million people live in endemic areas where infections are common.
PPF is a late-stage complication of schistosomiasis where chronic and repeated infection causes damage to the vessels that supply blood to the liver and eventually in its most severe form to the liver tissue itself. Current WHO guidelines use information about the intensity of a schistosomiasis infection in place of actually diagnosing the disease to estimate how many people are affected by PPF.
To assess whether the current guidelines were able to accurately estimate how many people had PPF according to their infection status and intensity, researchers conducted a systematic review. This review included all published studies (40 studies) to date without language restriction, where cases of PPF had all been diagnosed using ultrasound, and where current infection status or intensity was diagnosed in the same participants.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) website.