The Chinese government on Wednesday published a newly-issued Statute on Prevention and Control of Schistosomiasis, commonly known as snail fever, vowing to beef up efforts to fight the disease.

 

The statute, approved by the State Council on March 22, will take effect from May 1.

 

Eliminating the freshwater snail that carries the disease is one of the major substantial measures to control schistosomiasis, as it is the intermediate host of the blood fluke, which causes the disease, according to the statute.

 

Officials detected 10.58 million square meters of new snail habitats in 2005, up 0.44 percent over 2004 when China had 3.85 billion square meters of snail habitats, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

 

The statute underlined the urgent need for better treatment of human and animal waste, as this was a key transmission channel.

 

Water supply systems and toilets in rural areas should be renovated to make sure fluke eggs were eradicated. Fishermen should be provided with basic preventive medicine, boats should have septic tanks, and sanitary toilets should be built on river and lake banks, requires the statute.

 

Livestock should be kept in enclosures in affected areas and livestock is banned from known snail habitat areas. Stock waste is required to be treated before being discharged, it says.

 

Local authorities relying on a common water system or in isolated regions should coordinate both prevention plans and control measures, said an official in charge of the Legislative Affairs Office under the State Council, or the central government.

 

The central government would offer financial supports to the underdeveloped regions as well as major prevention and control projects, while local governments should allocate funds to fight the disease, the official said.

 

Basic preventive medicine must be provided free to rural farmers, and preferable healthcare rates should be available for other affected groups, including needy farmers, workers who contract the disease through injuries at work, citizens who enjoy urban medical insurance and people infected in flood control.

 

Free examination and treatment and free basic preventive medicine must also be given to livestock, according to the official.

 

Schistosomiasis affects 74 countries and regions, most of which are underdeveloped, with approximately 200 million people infected and the total affected population amounting to 600 million.

 

China has 12 high-prevalence provinces and regions of schistosomiasis in and south of the Yangtze River, the country's longest river. Records of the disease date back more than 2,100 years.

 

The epidemic has been hard to control in the past owing to poor waste treatment in fields, rural latrines and fishing boats and waters. Schistosomiasis is a wasting disease causing blood loss and tissue damage.

 

By the end of 2005, China had spent 19.5 billion yuan (some US$2.4 billion) in renovating rural toilets, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2006)