Novel targets identified for treatment of schistosomiasis

The worms that cause schistosomiasis (Schistosoma mansoni) are unusual in several ways, especially the fact that male and female adults must stay paired together throughout their lives for reproduction to be successful. Females may produce as many as 3,000 eggs per day. Approximately half reach the host's gut or bladder. The rest are swept away via the blood to the liver and spleen, where they cause severe inflammation and liver cirrhosis, the main cause of mortality.