Schistosomiasis control in China in the second half of the twentieth century
Since 1950, the fight against schistosomiasis began in China as part of patriotic campaigns for public health. Initially the disease was the subject of attention of the military leadership, who perceived it as a threat to China security, but then it became a matter for the party and state authorities, who saw it as a cause of decreased productivity. In 1955, at Mao Zedong's initiative, the fight against schistosomiasis became a national cause, involving millions of peasants who were called upon to destroy the intermediate carriers of the disease, Oncomelania snails. During the years of the Great Leap Forward, the Chinese authorities succeeded in achieving unprecedented social mobilization for the struggle for public health. During the Cultural Revolution, thousands of health workers were sent to villages to treat schistosomiasis patients. During the Reform period, the forms of schistosomiasis control changed, but in the public mind, these campaigns were perceived to have been successful. In contemporary China, the schistosomiasis control has become more technological, but the experience of mass public mobilization in the face of the epidemic is still relevant, especially in the context of the fight against coronavirus infection.