The WHO new guideline to control and eliminate human schistosomiasis: implications for the verification of transmission interruption and surveillance of Schistosoma japonicum in China

Schistosomiasis is one of the 20 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) prioritized by World Health Organization (WHO). It is predominately distributed in subtropical and tropical areas of 78 countries and territories with approximate 800 million people at risk of infection and 241.3 million people requiring preventive chemotherapy (PC) [1]. Countries are at various stages of control with Africa representing more than 92% of those requiring PC, while Americas and Asia have achieved elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem and are moving towards transmission interruption. Due to the increasing available quantity of praziquantel (PZQ) donated by Merck [2] and other non-profit organizations, the treatment coverage for school-aged children (SAC) raised from 25.9% in 2012 to 66.8% by 2019 but declined significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic [1, 3]. Expansion of PC combined with other interventions resulted in a significant reduction of the prevalence of schistosomiasis including the Africa where 60% prevalence reduction has been observed [4].

To accelerate the achievement of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, WHO published its second roadmap for NTDs in 2021 with specific targets to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem in all endemic countries and interrupt the transmission in selected countries by 2030[5]. To provide guidance for action against human schistosomiasis, WHO launched a new guideline in February 2022 [6]. This article is to discuss in deep the implications of recommendation on verification of transmission interruption with regards to Schistosoma japonicum from China perspective.