Published by the Anton Breinl Centre for Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, Australia Return of the God of Plague: Schistosomiasis in China

The history of schistosomiasis in China can be traced back with some accuracy for the past hundred years and with less certainty before this time. During the Maoist era China made great strides in attempting to eliminate schistosomiasis using a combination of techniques including snail eradication and mass chemotherapy. The rise in the number of infected persons since 1978 is due to new health and economic development policies. China has done little to turn the tide that has reached epidemic proportions and its future in the new century is clearly indicated by its recent past. This past experience is reviewed in the present paper