The FAST Package: Improving Women's Health by Reducing Morbidity from Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) in Sub-Saharan Africa

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or “snail fever” is a parasitic disease that affects men, women and children living in tropical regions. Disease transmission occurs through contact with freshwater during regular daily activities (washing, bathing, gathering water, swimming) putting adults, adolescents and children at continuous risk of infection. The parasite lives in the blood vessels in the pelvis and lays eggs that get stuck to the urinary and genital tract causing blood in the urine as well as severe bladder, kidney, and genital damage. Women and adolescent girls especially suffer from consequences of genital schistosomiasis and if left untreated, develop a condition called female genital schistosomiasis (FGS). This causes lower belly and pelvic pain and is frequently confused with sexually transmitted diseases. It also causes problems with getting pregnant and can lead to miscarriages. Increasing evidence shows that a woman with FGS has a threefold increased risk of HIV infection when she becomes sexually active. Women and girls suffer the physical and social consequences associated with these symptoms. Timely treatment can decrease and reverse some of the symptoms and early preventive treatment may prevent FGS. FGS has been termed “the sexual and reproductive health issue you’ve probably never heard of” and remains one of the most important neglected area in women’s and girl’s health globally. The World Health Organization estimates up to 56 million women have FGS, nearly all living in sub-Saharan Africa. FGS represents a unique global health challenge in terms of its scale, neglect and positive impact if addressed. Our project will combine a set of tools, innovations, and interventions that will remove barriers to proper diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of FGS by leveraging current and planned activities to increase access to cervical cancer prevention and screening, HIV prevention, as well as other neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs. Together this set of activities is the FGS Accelerated Scale Together (FAST) package. The FAST package will have impact on children’s health by preventing new infections through the administration of school and community based preventive treatment, stopping the parasite from invading tissues and causing further damage.