Study Population
From March 2020 to April 2021, 135 patients from Changde, including 84 chronic and 51 advanced ones were included and 24 healthy volunteers were included as the control group. Changde, a city near Dongting Lake, has long been the epicenter of Schistosoma japonica outbreaks. Changde was the first place in China where Schistosoma japonicum was found, and even after considerable treatment by the government, a large number of Schistosoma patients still exist. Informed consent was obtained for each patient, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (No. 21149).