Fascioliasis

Fascioliasis is a parasitic disease caused by liver flukes of the genus Fasciola, most often Fasciola hepatica, which infect the liver and bile ducts of humans and livestock such as sheep and cattle. People become infected by eating raw or undercooked aquatic plants, especially watercress, that carry the parasite's larval stage, or by drinking contaminated water. Early infection can cause fever, abdominal pain, nausea and an enlarged liver as young flukes migrate through the liver tissue, while long-term infection of the bile ducts can lead to inflammation, obstruction and, in some cases, anemia. The disease occurs worldwide wherever livestock grazing and freshwater snails, which the parasite needs to complete its life cycle, coexist, and it is treated with the antiparasitic drug triclabendazole.