Schistosomiasis Presenting as Acute Appendicitis in a Traveler

Schistosomiasis, a waterborne trematode infestation, is one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. It occurs in well-defined endemic geographical areas.' Schistosomiasis of the appendix was first described by Turner in 1909,' and has been reported &om endemic areas.&' However, appendicular schistosomiasis in travelers has not been reported in the English literature. We describe an Israeli traveler with acute appendicitis as the presenting symptom of schistosomiasis, 2 years after a visit to Africa. Schistosovna sp. (Fig. 1). The patient was interrogated about previous travel, and revealed that he visited Africa 2 years ago. A dose of praziquantel was administered orally prior to discharge, and a second dose was prescribed 4 hours later.