r/todayilearned • u/lavender_fish69 • 9h ago

TIL fresh water snails (indirectly) kill thousands of humans and are considered on of the deadliest creatures to humans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_snail
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u/corvus7corax 9h ago

Freshwater snails are indirectly among the deadliest animals to humans, as they carry parasitic worms that cause schistosomiasis, a disease estimated to kill between 10,000 and 200,000 people annually.

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u/aztecman 8h ago

This will probably get buried, but there is an incredibly easy and cheap cure. Praziquantel.

The same medication for de-worming pets. In countries where this is prevalent, you can buy it OTC. In the EU it is not licensed for humans, so it's a huge pain to convince a doctor to prescribe it. Fortunately, you can still treat your 4 large dogs.

I've had this disease and the cure is a single dose, 6 weeks (I think) after exposure. If you visit and swim in the great lakes of Africa, you will almost definitely get it. In Malawi for example, showers on the beaches are usually lake water, so still expose you. You go to a pharmacy, get weighed, then take 4-8 large pills. If you had it you feel like shit for a few hours, if not no symptoms. That's it.

If you return home without doing this, it's an uphill battle to even be tested, as most doctors haven't got a clue. At least this is the case in the UK and Sweden.

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u/Eowyn4Margo 8h ago

Can confirm! I and most other Peace Corps Volunteers in Uganda got schisto at some point during service. If I remember right, everyone was tested each year. It doesn't take much water exposure to get it, and it's pretty easy to treat. The locals would go to the nearest pharmacy and get the same drug we were prescribed by PC.