Tackling a neglected disease with math

11. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. While humanitarian projects have successfully brought down the number of victims, researchers are developing a computer model to achieve a more ambitious aim: to completely eliminate the disease from the region. Schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, is a parasitic disease that infects people who expose themselves to contaminated lakes and rivers. Over the past decade, campaigns to treat infected individuals have managed to bring down the morbidity of the disease, but eliminating it from entire regions will require an orchestrated approach involving the entire infectious cycle of the disease. In a study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a group of researchers led by EPFL show how human mobility and water resource development contribute to the spread of the disease and layout challenges for the development of more effective treatment strategies in Burkina Faso. Humans have won the battle against schistosomiasis before.