ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES IN SCHISTOSOMIASIS CONTROL

Measures for the control of schistosomiasis were implemented in Egypt begining 1922. This shows that developing endemic countries are facing this problem for near 70 years. However, results in the control of th is infection have not been satisfactorily obtained in spite of the tec hnologies and strategies recently developed. The idea that social and economic components are relevant in the control of schistosomiasis is not new although its extension and profundity have not usually been we ll understood. More recently, most of the workers have recognized that the focal distribution of the prevalence rates of schistosomiasis sho uld not be neglected in the control of the infection. At present, fiel d work projects on the control of schistosomiasis are being developed in rural areas of two Brazilian states (Espirito Santo and Pernambuco) . The adopted strategy aims to interfere in the complex relationships between man and his bio-social-cultural environment, without forgeting that the unequal distribution of the space is a consequence of the po litical and economic organization of the Society.