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Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

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Fasciolosis overview

Introduction

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Overview

Overview

Fasciolosis is an important helminth disease caused by two trematodes Fasciola hepatica (the common liver fluke) and Fasciola gigantica. This disease belongs to the plant-borne trematode zoonoses. In Europe, the Americas and Oceania only F. hepatica is a concern, but the distributions of both species overlap in many areas of Africa and Asia.[1]

The definitive host range is very broad and includes many herbivorous mammals, including humans. The life cycle includes freshwater snails as an intermediate host of the parasite.[2] Recently, worldwide losses in animal productivity due to fasciolosis were conservatively estimated at over US$3.2 billion per annum.[3] In addition, fasciolosis is now recognized as an emerging human disease: the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 2.4 million people are infected with Fasciola, and a further 180 million are at risk of infection.[4]

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Fasciola hepatica
References

References

  1. ↑ Mas-Coma, S., Bargues, M.D., Valero, M.A., 2005. Fascioliasis and other plant-borne trematode zoonose. Int. J. Parasitol. 35, 1255–1278.
  2. ↑ Torgerson, P., Claxton, J., 1999. Epidemiology and control. In: Dalton, J.P. (Ed.), Fasciolosis. CAB International Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 113–149.
  3. ↑ Spithill, T.W., Smooker, P.M., Copeman, D.B. 1999. Fasciola gigantica: epidemiology, control, immunology and molecular biology. In: Dalton, J.P. (Ed.), Fasciolosis. CAB International Publishing, Wallingford, pp. 465–525.
  4. ↑ Anonymus 1995. Control of Foodborne Trematode Infections. WHO Technical Series No. 849. WHO, Geneva, 157 pp.