Epidemiologia della schistosomiasi urinaria in Emilia-Romagna

Parasitic diseases are one of the main health problems, especially in underdeveloped countries, but usually only a few species of parasites affect the urinary tract. Schistosoma haematobium is responsible for one of thesediseases with systemic and urinary involvement and its incidence is enormous in endemic areas (hundreds of millions of persons) (1). Current mobility of populations and air travel, however, lead to the migration of tropical diseases to non-endemic areas, where such pathologies are not easily recognised or diagnosed (2). This work aims at assessing the epidemiology of urinary schistosomiasis in Emilia-Romagna, despite knowing that data must be considered approximate (lower than real) due to the bad habit of some doctors in not always certifying diagnosed cases of disease.