Does the immunopathology induced by schistosome eggs potentiate parasite survival?

Infection with schistosomes is accompanied by inflammatory lesions resembling delayed hypersensitivity reactions, that are induced by eggs in host tissues. Here Michael Doenhoff and his colleagues demonstrate that T-cell-deprived mice excrete much fewer eggs than do intact control animals. From the results of serum and cell transfer experiments, they conclude that immune processes assist egg expulsion and thus contribute to the parasite's success.