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This fluke infects cattle, sheep and goats worldwide, humans
are infected after eating food or water contaminated by faeces.
Initial
symptoms are non-specific - malaise, fever, weight loss, diarrhea,
abdominal pain (near liver) and itching about 2-3 months after
infection.
Larvae
will penetrate the intestine and migrate to the liver and
biliary tract and produce eggs. Sometime they are also found
in the brain, lungs, and skin. Jaundice may occur if the flukes
block the biliary flow.
Diagnosis
- eggs are seen in stool or blood tests can confirm the diagnosis.
Anti-worm
medication is effective in eradicating their infection.
Fascioliasis Liver Fluke links
Center for Disease Control CDC http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Fascioliasis.htm
University
of CambridgeDepartment of PathologySchistosomiasis Research
Group http://www.path.cam.ac.uk/~schisto/OtherFlukes
/Fasciola.html
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