Adult
blood flukes infect marine and freshwater fishes and are usually reported from the heart, branchial vessels, or mesenteric vessels.
The tiny
blood fluke (Schistosoma mansoni), for example, emerges from a snail and swims through tropical waters in Africa or South America in search of soft human skin.
Professor Hoffmann and colleagues show for the first time that genomic DNA of the
blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni is methylated and go on to identify the protein (a DNA methyltransferase) that is likely to mediate this process.
To the Editor: Schistosomiasis, known since ancient times, is caused by
blood flukes (Trematoda: Schistosomidae).
A debilitating disease caused by
blood flukes, schistosomiasis kills 300,000 people a year, a death toll second only to malaria among parasitic diseases, and leaves more than 200 million people chronically ill.
Blood flukes post a major threat to the vast population living in the waterfront areas in the Yangtze River region of China.
The parasites that cause this disease, several related species of
blood flukes, are also fascinating subjects for biologic research because of their complexity, relatively long lifespan, and remarkable host-parasite biology.
