{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]],"date-time":"2026-02-01T11:14:59Z","timestamp":1769944499395,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Scientific Scholar","content-domain":{"domain":["ijmr.org.in"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Indian J Med Res"],"abstract":"\nBackground & objectives<\/jats:title>\nInfection with Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium)<\/jats:italic> is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in humans, primarily affecting the African countries. In 1952, a pathology professor discovered an endemic focus of S. haematobium<\/jats:italic> in a small village named Gimavi in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. Its emergence about 5,000 km away from its homeland in Africa, the absence of the known vector, Bullinus, in India, and its confinement to only one village were enigmatic. The Government of Maharashtra executed several activities and eliminated the focus after about 40 years. Many practicing and teaching public health experts today are unaware of the focus and the efforts undertaken for its elimination. This study's objectives were to identify clinical features, enlist the containment activities undertaken by the government, and identify reasons for confinement.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nMethods<\/jats:title>\nWe conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews. All available past patients, two health personnel (male and female health workers), a medical officer, a district health officer, the concerned senior officer from the Directorate of Health Services, a scientist from Haffkine Institute, Gramsevak\/Talathi<\/jats:italic> (village level healthcare workers), Sarpanch\/Up-sarpanch<\/jats:italic> (administrative heads of a large village or a cluster of small villages), at least one from each category, were interviewed. The study included persons who worked during that period.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nResults<\/jats:title>\nThe investigator interviewed ten personnel and two past patients. Many children had painless and mild haematuria, which persisted for some years. All respondents knew about the tiny snails living in the rivulet transmitted the disease. Construction of bridges, tanks, toilets, water supply schemes, barbed fencing along banks, manual collection\/destruction of snails, health education, and mass drug administration eliminated the focus. Besides Gimavi, the rivulet flows through two villages and joins an estuary of a river where, due to high salinity, tiny freshwater snails cannot survive.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n\nInterpretation & conclusions<\/jats:title>\nA new species of snail was discovered to transmit S. haematobium<\/jats:italic>. The disease was mild and self-limiting. A multipronged attack eliminated the focus. The unique environmental conditions restricted the spread of the disease.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.25259\/ijmr_799_2025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]],"date-time":"2025-08-21T06:03:02Z","timestamp":1755756182000},"page":"5-13","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25259\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The untold story of elimination of human schistosomiasis from Gimavi village, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra State, India: A qualitative study"],"prefix":"10.25259","volume":"162","author":[{"given":"Prakash Prabhakarrao","family":"Doke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Bharati Vidyapeeth University Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jayashree Sachin","family":"Gothankar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Bharati Vidyapeeth University Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amruta Paresh","family":"Chutke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Central Research and Publication Unit, Bharati Vidyapeeth University Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"10894","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-2","first-page":"10","article-title":"Does bilharzia (Schistosomiasis) exist in India?","volume":"49","author":"Milton","year":"1914","journal-title":"Ind Med Gaz"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1016\/0035-9203(91)90036-X","article-title":"Five mammalian schistosome species in an endemic focus in India","volume":"85","author":"Agrawal","year":"1991","journal-title":"Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-4","first-page":"760","article-title":"Human schistosomiasis in India. Discovery of an endemic focus in the Bombay State","volume":"6","author":"Gadgil","year":"1952","journal-title":"Indian J Med Sci"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-5","first-page":"352","article-title":"Studies on schistosomiasis in village Gimvi of Maharashtra","volume":"74","author":"Gaitonde","year":"1981","journal-title":"Indian J Med Res"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1380","DOI":"10.56093\/ijans.v92i12.119698","article-title":"Prevalence and associated risk factors of Schistosoma indicum infection in cattle of Assam, India","volume":"92","author":"Bulbul","year":"2022","journal-title":"Indian J of Anim Sci"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-7","first-page":"143","article-title":"A study on the prevalence of schistosomiasis in bovines","volume":"8","author":"Chirayath","year":"2007","journal-title":"Intas Polivet"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250868","DOI":"10.1155\/2011\/250868","article-title":"Indian schistosomes: a need for further investigations","volume":"2011","author":"Agrawal","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Parasitol Res"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1236","DOI":"10.3201\/eid3006.231641","article-title":"Human passage of schistosoma incognitum, Tamil Nadu, India, and review of autochthonous schistosomiasis, South Asia","volume":"30","author":"Ajjampur","year":"2024","journal-title":"Emerg Infect Dis"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-10","first-page":"2016","article-title":"Schistosoma haematobium infection in Lahager, a village in Raipur District of Madhya Pradesh","volume":"57","author":"Shrivastava","year":"1969","journal-title":"Indian J Med Res"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-11","first-page":"376","article-title":"Urinary schistosomiasis in India with a report of one case","volume":"3","author":"Desa","year":"1949","journal-title":"Indian J Med Sci"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-12","volume-title":"Human schistosomiasis in India. [Ph.D. Thesis]","author":"Gadgil","year":"1960"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-13","first-page":"703","article-title":"Human schistosomiasis in India. Part III. Note on the clinical survey of the endemic focus","volume":"43","author":"Shah","year":"1955","journal-title":"Ind Jour Med Res"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-14","volume-title":"Studies on Schistosomiasis in India with particular reference to the focus in village Gimavi, Dist. Ratnagiri, Maharasthra State. [Ph.D. Thesis]","author":"Sathe","year":"1983"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-15","first-page":"546","article-title":"Re-survey and present status of the endemic focus of schistosomiasis","volume":"46","author":"Dave","year":"1958","journal-title":"Indian J Med Res"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-16","article-title":"Observations on periodicity of output of schistosome eggs in the urine samples of schistosomiasis cases","volume":"12","author":"Sathe","year":"1984","journal-title":"Bull Haffkine Inst"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-17","first-page":"34","article-title":"Reinvestigation of an old focus of schistosomiasis in Gimvi Village, District Ratnagiri, in Maharashtra State India","volume":"9","author":"Sathe","year":"1981","journal-title":"Bull Haffkine"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-18","first-page":"56","article-title":"Studies on snails of a focus of human schistosomiasis in India","volume":"11","author":"Sathe","year":"1983","journal-title":"Bull Haffkine Inst"},{"key":"10.25259\/IJMR_799_2025\/ref-19","first-page":"35","article-title":"Human schistosomiasis in India. 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