Parasite controls in Japan with emphasis on special characteristics

Abstract

For a long period Japan was a country with a variety of parasites linked to the geo-climatic features of the country and agricultural modes. However national endeavors to promote parasite controls resulted in the successful elimination of those parasites by around 1970. In this short article, I briefly overview the control programs of soil-transmitted parasites, lymphatic filaria, Schistosoma japonicum and malaria, and cite some of the characteristic features and remarkable facts revealed in the course of individual control programs. © 2008, Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved.