Study On Prevention And Cure Movement Of Schistosomiasis In Jiangsu Province(1949-1966)

Schistosomiasis was first discovered in Japan.In China,it could be confirmed from the etiology that the schistosomiasis was existed since 1905.Although it did not use the"schistosomiasis" as the disease name in ancient China,a vast amount of records were found in traditional medical books.In Jiangsu Province,schistosomiasis had wide prevalence and caused great harm in the long history.In the period of Minguo,the health department of Jiangsu province of Kuomingtang government established the South Jiangsu Endemic Disease Prevention and Cure Office in Mudu town of Wu County to carry out the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis.However,due to the serious shortage of financial investment,the prevention and cure work did not exceed the initial stage.After the founding of People's Republic of China,the schistosomiasis received serious attention in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC).After the schistosomiasis was found spreading fast in the southern regions of the Yangtze River,and the HuaDong authorities took positive measures to prevent and cure.Then,under the leadership of the HuaDong Branch of the CPC Central Committee,the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis were also commenced preliminary in Nanjing,Southern and Northern District of Jiangsu.These prevention and cure work achieved remarkable results,but there were still some urgent problems needed to be solved.In 1953-1955,the CPC Central Committee headed by Mao Zedong realized that schistosomiasis had caused great harm in the China's Yangtze River valley.Therefore,Mao Zedong issued the call of "schistosomiasis must be wiped out" to the whole Communist Party of China and the people of the whole country in 1955.According to the Mao's proposal,the Nine-member Group for schistosomiasis prevention and cure was set up in the CPC Committee,and the governing agencies for schistosomiasis prevention and cure work were established in twelve provinces and cities in Yangtze River valley.The CPC Central Committee made the guidelines and measures for schistosomiasis prevention and cure,and the experts and professors from relevant colleges,universities and scientific research institutions were called to have meetings to solve the technical problems and methods for the prevention and cure of schistosomiasis.Because of the proper leading of the CPC Central Committee,the large-scale prevention and cure movements of schistosomiasis were launched step by step in the whole country.After the establishment of Jiangsu Province,the instructions from HuaDong Branch of the CPC Central Committee,the guidelines and policies on the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis from the CPC Central Committee were implemented consistently and thoroughly by Jiangsu authorities.Jiangsu province not only made the program and proposed the plans of prevention and cure work in the period of 1956 to 1958,but also made specific regulations for the scientific research and funds management.Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and Provincial Party Committee of Jiangsu,the "mass prevention and cure" work in Jiangsu Province immediately spread out.The Jiangsu became the first to make a break-through achievement in the prevention and cure work in the whole nation.In 1958,the Great Leap Forward activity was carried out in Chinese industrial and agricultural fields.The Great Leap Forward demanded the speeding up of the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis in order to supply more labor force.For this reason,the Nine-member Group issued a call of "Summon the revolutionary enthusiasm,Full leap,Quicken wiping out schistosomiasis" and proposed the goals for the "Great Leap Forward" in the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis.In addition to this,the Group encouraged the local governments to break the routines,established typical cases for the "Great Leap Forward" of the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis,as well as launched the“Great Leap Forward" of the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis.The Provincial Party Committee of Jiangsu positively carried out the instructions of the CPC Committee and presented the Great Leap Forward Movement in the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis in Jiangsu province immediately.The whole movement was divided into three stages,the "unprecedented leap forward","continual leap forward" and”sustained going on".The prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis made some achievements during the Great Leap Forward.However,many problems were also left after the Great Leap Forward.The organization was dissolved;the staff was reduced;the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis was in the state of half-stop or stop;the state of oncomelania and illness rose again significantly;the acute infection was very serious;the scientific work methods and steady style in the first year of the People's Republic of China were destroyed;the three years ecological difficulty forced the government to focus on the dropsy illness or other illness.In this case,the epidemic schistosomiasis situation became more and more serious.After the Great Leap Forward,due to the lack of grain and the urgent situation of diseases such as edema and emaciation,people were all engage in the production and the prevention of edema disease.In this case,the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis relaxed gradually in every province and city where schistosomiasis was spreading.As a result,the rapid rose of the schistosomiasis and the acute infections seriously influenced people's health and the local agricultural production.These phenomena needed the CPC Central Committee to make adjustments for the guidelines on the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis after the Great Leap Forward.So since the early 1961,the Nine-member Group for schistosomiasis prevention and cure in the CPC Central Committee had a series of meetings to make guidelines for the adjustments on the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis,where a variety of measures were adopt to promote adjustment.Immediately,the Party Committee and administrative department of Jiangsu Province implemented the guidelines from the Central Committee and made adjustments on the overall objectives of the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis.In 1961-1965,"the adjustments on the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis" in Jiangsu Province was divided into three stages,named the early stage of adjustment(1961,1-1962,5),the key stage of adjustment(1962.5-1963,12)and the late stage of adjustment(1963,12-1965).The prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis in various regions were successfully carried out,which achieved remarkable results.Then in 1964-1965,due to the influence of the "Left" route of the CPC Central Committee,the "class viewpoint" was implemented in the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis.As a part of the national economy adjustments,"the adjustments on the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis" was guided by the "Three Flags".Therefore,with the implementation of the"Left" route "Taking Class Struggle as the Central Task" of the CPC,the adjustment deviated gradually from its right track.In 1966-1967,the Party Committee of Jiangsu Province disposed prevention and cure work according to the work plan of the Nine-member Group for schistosomiasis prevention and cure in the CPC Central Committee.In 1967,due to the serious interference of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution(1966-1976),the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis was stagnated in Jiangsu Province.In 1970,as the epidemic became serious again,the CPC Central Committee issued a special document on the prevention and cure of schistosomiasis.From 1970 to 1973,the prevention and cure work of schistosomiasis was restarted again in Jiangsu Province.In October 1976,Jiangsu Province announced that the whole prince realized the elimination of schistosomiasis even the prevention and cure work had not been completed.