A POTENTIALLY deadly parasite carried by snails is creeping into popular European holiday spots, experts have warned.
The bug behind the tropical disease schistosomiasis – also known as snail fever and bilharzia – is now being found in beautiful rivers and lakes across the Mediterranean.
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Experts think a combination of tourism and warmer temperatures in Europe could be to blame for the rise in infections.
The disease, caused by parasitic worms that live inside freshwater snails, can silently infect people who swim, paddle or wash in contaminated water.
The fork-shaped grub burrows through human skin where it lays thousands of eggs.
These eggs can lodge in organs and, if left untreated, cause infertility, blindness, severe organ damage, and even bladder cancer.
In children, repeated infections can even lead to stunted growth.
“It was people travelling from Africa, particularly Senegal, who imported the parasites,” said Bonnie Webster, Principal Researcher at the Schistosome Snail Resource at the Natural History Museum.
“When it happens, it’s hard to control,” she added, according to The Telegraph.
“Once one snail is infected, they infect a whole population of snails which then infect a whole population of humans.”
The alarm was raised at the Wellcome Trust in London last week, as scientists said the disease, once mostly confined to sub-Saharan Africa, is now spreading in parts of southern Europe.
More than 120 cases have been confirmed in Corsica since 2014, with evidence suggesting the worms were brought over by infected individuals from Senegal.
These individuals are believed to have shed the parasite in their pee, infecting rivers where local snails then became riddled with the bug.
Since then, sporadic outbreaks have cropped up in Spain and Portugal, with fears that warming weather and human activity could turn more idyllic waterways into danger zones.
Schistosomiasis is estimated to affect 240 million people worldwide, with 90 per cent of cases in Africa.
Every year, the disease kills between 15,000 and 20,000 people.
Scientists are growing concerned that changes in weather patterns is making the problem worse.
“Climate change will cause huge changes in transmission which need to be understood,” said Bonnie.
“Some areas will become drier and other areas will become flooded creating new water bodies.
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“This will lead to snails changing where they can be found and cause the prevalence of schistosomiasis to increase and spread leading to outbreaks in new locations.”
While the threat is rising in Europe, the brunt of the disease still falls on poor, rural communities in Africa, especially among farmers, fishermen and women who wash clothes or collect water from infested rivers.
Children are also at high risk due to poor hygiene and frequent water contact.
The disease comes in two main forms: urogenital and intestinal.
Urogenital affects the bladder and reproductive organs, while the intestinal form targets the gut, causing pain, diarrhoea and bleeding.
First local case in Europe
Europe’s first schistosomiasis outbreak was in Portugal in the 1920s, lasting an astonishing 50 years, after travellers brought it over from Angola.
More recently, the first locally acquired case in Europe was noted in 2013, when a 12-year-old German boy became infected while swimming in Corsica’s scenic Cavu River, according to reports.
Over 100 swimmers later tested positive.
The last known case in Corsica was in 2019 – but experts warn dozens more could be infected without knowing, as symptoms may not show for years.
There is a treatment, praziquantel, a drug that paralyses the worms, but access is critically limited in the countries hit hardest.
The 5 ‘mistakes’ putting you at risk of worms..
Dr Angad Dhillon, a consultant gastroenterologist, is an expert when it comes to all things worms.
He highlighted five things that could be putting you at risk – one of which involves a common fruit and veg mistake.
- Not washing your hands properly after using the toilet or changing nappies.
- Scratching your anal area (common with threadworms) and then touching surfaces or food without washing hands.
- Walking barefoot in areas where the soil might be contaminated (a risk for hookworms, more common abroad).
- Eating undercooked meat or fish (a risk for tapeworms) or unwashed fruits and vegetables.
- Not treating everyone in the household at the same time, leading to re-infection.
The main ways people get parasitic worms, said Dr Dhillon, include swallowing microscopic eggs, often through hand-to-mouth contact – for example, touching contaminated surfaces or scratching the anal area.
“Also, walking barefoot on soil contaminated with worm larvae (hookworms),” he added.
“You cannot easily see hookworm larvae in soil with the naked eye as they’re microscopic organisms.
“Inhaling dust that contains worm eggs is another way people get parasitic worms – for example, when you shake contaminated bedding.”
While the thought of having a worm infection is enough to make anyone’s stomach churn, infections can usually be easily treated.
Dr Dhillon advised: “Mild cases of threadworms may eventually clear up, but because re-infection is common, treatment is usually needed.
“Dr Dhillon added: “Roundworms, tapeworms, and other parasites rarely go away without medication and can cause long-term health issues if left untreated.
“It’s always best to seek treatment to avoid spreading the infection and to prevent complications.”