Fasciola hepatica
Fasciola hepatica (also known as the common liver fluke) is a parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm) in the phylum Platyhelminthes.
| Fasciola hepatica | |
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| Fasciola hepatica – adult worm | |
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| Fasciola hepatica Linnaeus, 1758
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It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans. The disease caused by the fluke is called fascioliasis. It has been classified as a neglected tropical disease.[1]
F. hepatica is worldwide. It has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for hundreds of years. It causes great economic losses in sheep and cattle. Because of its size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species.
Fasciola Hepatica Media
Galba truncatula, an amphibious freshwater lymnaeid snail that serves as the main intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica in Europe
The lifecycle of Fasciola hepatica
A simple diagram to show the difference between the teguments of free-living and parasitic flatworms: a. shows the syncytial epithelial tegument found in parasitic flatworms, such as F. hepatica. b. shows the multicellular, nonsyncytial, epithelia, found in nonparasitic, free-living flatworms.
Image showing the location of the mouth, labelled mo, and the anterior sucker, as labelled sckr
Diagram of the main organ systems of F. hepatica throughout the progressive life stages of the fluke (1938). A - egg; B - miracidium; C - sporocyst; D - rediae, E - immature cercaria, F - cercaria, G - encysted stage, H - adult fluke (nervous and reproductive systems omitted)
Fasciola hepatica prevalence. The countries in red are those with high prevalence, those in orange have low-medium prevalence.
The left image shows the free-swimming cercariae, the swimming "tail" is clearly visible. The right side of the diagram shows the cysts attached to grass.
Slide showing Fasciola hepatica's internal organs
F. hepatica egg in stool sample.
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References
- ↑ "Neglected Tropical Diseases". cdc.gov. June 6, 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2014.