Bill harzia? Bilharziosis

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Been to Egypt?
Any part of Egypt. Where you can access the river Nile: be it Cairo, the modern Egyptian capital, Alexandria, one of the greatest ancient cities, Aswan, Assiut, Giza, the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, Luxor, Zagazig, Sharm el Sheikh, Suez, where the Suez Canal is located... Al-Minya...
Anywhere in Egypt....
Why did I ask? Because lurking beneath the Nile river is Bilharzia.
Bill_harzia? Sound like Bill_Clinton, isn't it? Yeah, some similarities too. Because lurking beneath the body of Monica Lewinsky is Bill Clinton. And lurking beneath some nice silk blanket is Monica Lewinsky. And lurking beneath the roof of the White House in Washington DC is some nice silk blanket. Hah-haa. Anyways back to Bilharzia and Bilharziosis. Also known as Schistomiasis. It is a disease that in the long term will lead to bleeding and ulceration in the bladder or intestine, liver damage, kidney failure and cancer. My point is if you had been in the river Nile and you had been swimming, washing or paddling there or been drinking its water or eating food that has been washed in its untreated water you can contract this disease. A significant number of liver cirrhosis in Egypt is attributed to this disease. Kinda easy to make a diagnosis of hepatomegaly, isn't it, eh you medical students? No way, we are not going to help you pass your exam that easy. We will give you some really nasty, complicated case of multi organ damage, rather. So, study hard. Anyways Bilharziosis is caused by this parasite bilharzia and the cycle of infection starts when fresh water becomes contaminated by the parasite’s eggs which are transferred to the water through the stools and urine of people who are already infected. Once in the water, the eggs hatch and the worms reproduce in the bodies of water snails. Minute fork-tailed larvae (known as cercariae) are released into the water where they can live for about 48 hours. If they come into contact with human skin, the larvae penetrate and enter the blood stream, travelling through the body to the blood vessels of the lungs and liver, and from there to the veins around the bowel or bladder. After a few weeks the mature worms mate and begin to produce eggs, which pass through the walls of the bladder or intestine before being returned to the outside in faeces or urine. And so the cycle continues. Kinda like that movie Aliens 'In space no one can hear you scream' isn't it? Wonder if Sigourney Weaver been to Egypt? What if she actually had and she paddled in the river Nile and..... say anybody heard of Sigourney Weaver lately? Wonder. So if you were in Egypt six months back and you develop this rash or itchy skin especially inbetween your toes or fingers and now you have fatigue, fever, chills, cough, muscle aches, jaundice, weight loss and enlargement of the liver and spleen then you better scream. You are not in space y'know and everyone can hear you scream. What should you scream about? No, not 'I got the Pharaoh's curse' no Sir_rie. You can scream 'I got Bill Clinton's itch but not Monica Lewinsky'. Sheesh. Anyways let us cure you. A short course of the drug praziquantel usually clears up the infection even in advanced cases, but does not protect against re-infection. Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad (MASTA) advises travellers to be aware that fake and sub-standard medicines can be sold in many developing countries. What else is new. And if you are treated before significant damage or complications occur the results are usually good. Whew.
Whew indeed. Hey Bill, did they manage to cure you of Monica Lewinskiosis? Good boy, Bill, good boy.