Imported schistosomiasis in Europe: preliminary data for 2007 from TropNetEurop

A preliminary analysis of sentinel surveillance data of the European Network on Imported Infectious Disease Surveillance (TropNetEurop) shows 88 cases of imported schistosomiasis for 2007 (17 cases of Schistosoma haematobium, 44 of S. mansoni, 3 of S. japonicum, and 27 unknown species, e.g. early stage, Katayama fever) [1]. Although clinical reporting data for schistosomiasis are notoriously difficult to assess due to the chronic nature of the disease and thus very long periods before diagnosis is confirmed, the analysis gives a good idea about how this infection is brought into Europe.