Abstract
The main endemic areas of schistosomiasis japonica in Japan were three sites in Yamanashi Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture and Fukuoka/Saga Prefectures, and ubiquity of distribution is governed by the intermediate host Oncomelania nosophora. The presenter has to date, undertaken to clarify these factors that govern distribution through the implementation of local surveys and breeding experiments. In Japan, numerous direct and indirect eradication measures were implemented immediately after the discovery of O. nosophora. These measures resulted in the declaration of safety being made in relation to the Kofu Basin in 1996, and in Japan, schistosomiasis was thought to have ended. However, since O. nosophora still inhabit the Kofu Basin, etc. the monitoring of habitation status is important. Consequently, with regards to the Kofu Basin, working with habitation density distribution maps from the end of the 1960s and around 2000, GIS was used to clarify the range of distribution and changes in habitation density. From Japan's satellite images, paddy fields were isolated, and by combining the range of risk areas with various maps, the areas that should be monitored for O. nosophora were isolated. We are currently establishing more effective monitoring systems by implementing local surveys using GPS remote sensing using satellite images.
