Transmission Models for Schistosomiasis

Abstract

One important difference between schistosomiasis and hermaphroditic helminthiasis is that the sexually mature forms of the schistosomes are dioecious, i.e. male and female forms appear in separate individuals. Mating takes place between males and females, and it is only the mated female parasites that lay eggs. In contrast, all sexually mature parasites lay eggs in hermaphroditic helminthiasis. Thus, the infectivity of the human population in schistosomiasis is measured by the total number of mated female schistosomes harbored by all human hosts.