On the morning of October 30, 2021, teachers at Department of Pathogen Biology including Honggang ZHU, Jiahui LEI, Shengjun LU, Ting WANG and Fei GUAN led about 90 students of Clinical Medicine and Sino-German Medicine Class conduct a field study on schistosomiasis in Shuiyi Village, Wuhan City.
As the bus was stranded by thick mist at the entrance of expressway, Prof. Changfu JIANG, an experienced expert in schistosomiasis treatment, gave a lecture to students ahead of schedule. Schistosomiasis, also called bilharziasis, has plagued many provinces at a time when People's Republic of China was just founded so that people then called it "god of plague". Faculty and students of Tongji Medical College have been engaged in the treatment and prevention of this disease for decades. Prof. Jiang started with a famous poem written by Chairman Mao Farewell God of Plague and elaborated on his experiences in schistosomiasis treatment. His speech attracted all students' attention and made the waiting a pleasant experience.
One and half an hour later, they finally made it to the spot and met up with Keli BO, the head of Schistosomiasis Control Institute of Hannan District. The site is not randomly selected, but instead, staff members of Schistosomiasis Control Institute made on-the-spot investigations ahead of time. Staff members of the Institute have prepared for the students a manual on schistosomiasis prevention and treatment, gloves, chopsticks, envelopes and other tools. With those tools in hand, students went straight to a ditch next to a lawn to observe the growth environment of oncomelania which is the vector of schistosomiasis.
At 1:00 p.m. students and teachers returned to school safely. Though hungry and tired, all students spoke highly of this field study. They not only catch sight of oncomelania in person but also get to know how much efforts Chinese people have made to control schistosomiasis. This field study is designed to tell all students the importance of hands-on experience and their mission to fight against diseases that endanger people's life.
