**2. Historical analysis of** *Schistosomiasis* **in Africa**

Historically, scholars assumed that *schistosomiasis* in Africa must have originated from Egypt during the Egyptian mummies of the twentieth dynasty around 1250– 1000 B.C. because of the symptoms characteristic of urinary *schistosomiasis* which were first described in early Egyptian papyri and the eggs of *S*. *haematobium* identified in the urinary tracts approximately around 4000 years ago [23, 24].

According to Di Bella, there were reports of persistent *haematuria* recorded by members of Napoleon's army in Egypt in 1798 [24], and in forces involved in the

#### *Dancing in a Cycle: Global Health Agenda and* Schistosomiasis *Control in Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103164*

Boer war (1899–1902). In the Eastern Cape of South Africa, *schistosomiasis* was first recorded in 1863, after Dr. J Harley diagnosed endemic *haematuria* with unknown cause in residents which cause was only known 11 years after. Although *schistosomiasis* affects all age categories but was more common in children in South Africa between 1864 and 1899 this was associated with contact with freshwater [23, 25]. Although certain studies claimed that women and girls were considered to be less affected as they had little contact with "natural" water but other studies claimed they are more likely to be affected because they have more contact with freshwater [2, 25].

The name *schistosomiasis* was given by a German physician called Theodore Bilharz as he was the first to identify the parasite causing *schistosomiasis* in 1851. In his study he recovered two distinct species from autopsies of dead soldiers in Egypt and first named the parasite *Distomum haematobium* and also described hatching of eggs, linking the existence of the parasite to clinical symptoms– primarily *haematuria*– attributed to the disease [23]. Bilharzia was later adopted as the generic term for the *schistosomiasis* parasites after the German physician Theodore Bilharz.

In Africa, cultural interference influenced the way *schistosomiasis* symptoms are described. For example in Nigeria among Song people in the North, schistosomiasis is a sign of manhood; among the Yewa people in Southwestern, is called "*Atosiaja"* as a result of urinating where dogs urinated, while Anambra people in the Eastern part of Nigeria called it "*ogbodu"* meaning red urine, as a sign of venereal disease; a sign of maturity or a result of a curse, malaria fever, witchcraft or dirtiness [26]. In north Cameroon, the Fulbe people relate red urine to "*cille naange"* (sun urine), in Upper Egypt, is seen as "*harzia"*, a serious disease that weakens people, eats the liver, and causes blood loss, bladder stones, calcium disease and other afflictions [26]. In most of the African descriptions of *Schistosomiasis*, water contacts or snails were not mentioned. General knowledge of the disease causation and the perceived severity may influence people a little toward the disease.
