Key Point

Recommendations for people potentially exposed to schistosomiasis after swimming in the Cavu River (Southern Corsica) Several cases of urogenital schistosomiasis were diagnosed in late April among people who had swum in the Cavu River. The Directorate General for Health (DGS) consulted the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) to assess the risks associated with this infection and to obtain recommendations on how to proceed with regard to exposed populations. The HCSP recommends that all exposed individuals be tested, meaning those who had even brief skin contact with water (swimming, dipping a limb, etc.) from the Cavu River in Southern Corsica (near Porto-Vecchio) between 2011 and 2013 during the period from June to September. Exposed individuals should consult their primary care physician. This is not an emergency, as complications only arise in the long term. Screening will be performed via a simple blood test. If results are positive, the physician will prescribe a single-dose oral antiparasitic treatment. A toll-free information hotline has been set up by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: 0 800 130 000, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (free from a landline). Urogenital schistosomiasis is a disease caused by infection with a parasitic worm (Schistosoma haematobium) found in freshwater. Human infection occurs during daytime contact with infested freshwater.The worm larvae, released by the host snail (the bulin) living in the water, enter the human body by burrowing through the skin. Most of the time, the infection is asymptomatic and goes unnoticed. Without treatment, the larvae can persist in the body for years and lead to complications.