Esquistosomiasis
An acute and chronic illness, common in developing countries, caused by parasitic worms of the Schistosoma genus in infected water.
Every year more than 250 million people require treatment and another 800 million are at risk, causing a heavy economic burden on these countries. Currently it is mostly treated using praziquantel, but reports suggest resistance to this monotherapy is increasing. Phase III clinical trials are evaluating artemisinin and its derivatives dihydroartemisinin, artemether and artesunate to treat Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium parasites in combination with other molecules.