Images: past and present
October 2008 cover image
Snail fever is the common name of a serious water-borne disease
In some countries a tiny parasite that uses river snails as its host is a serious threat to human life and activity. It invades human beings through the skin of their feet and legs as they bathe or work in the rivers and makes them sick. WHO experts are working in the field to develop efficient methods of destroying the host snail and thus preventing transmission of the disease.
Bilharziasis Control Project,
Calioub, Egypt, date unknown
Photo: Ernst Scheiddeger (WHO. 2067)