KEY FACTS

Schistosmiasis

Schistosomiasis is a chronic disease caused by parasitic worms.
At least 243 million people required treatment for schistosomiasis in 2011.
The number of people reported to have been treated for schistosomiasis in 2011 was 28.1 million.
People are at risk of infection due to agricultural, domestic and recreational activities which expose them to infested water.
Lack of hygiene and play habits make children especially vulnerable to infection.
Clean drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene education would reduce infective water contact and the contamination of water sources.
Schistosomiasis control focuses on reducing disease through periodic, large-scale population treatment with praziquantel.

Dracunculiasis is a crippling parasitic disease on verge of eradication, with only 542 cases reported in 2012.
The disease is transmitted exclusively when people who have little or no access to safe-drinking water supply swallow water contaminated with parasite-infected water-fleas (cyclops).
Of the 20 countries that were endemic in the mid 1980s, only 4 (all on the African continent) reported cases in 2012.
Most cases (96%) occured in South Sudan.
From the time infection occurs, it takes between 10-14 months for the cycle to complete until a mature worm emerges from the body. (http://www.who.int)