Human fascioliasis

Abstract

Fasciola hepatica, a zoonotic liver fluke, can also cause disease in humans. Common symptoms are epigastric pain, upper abdominal pain and malaise. Fever and arthralgia are common in acute fascioliasis. Eosinophilia is the predominant laboratory finding, especially in patients with the acute form of the disease. Diagnosis and treatment is not easy, as physicians rarely encounter this disease, and effective drugs are not available in many countries. Human fascioliasis may be underestimated. Patients with eosinophilia and abdominal pain should be evaluated for F. hepatica infestation by parasitological, radiological and serological tests.

Evaluation of cases with Fasciola hepatica infection: experience in 6 children

“…After the disease is clinically suspected, diagnosis should be confirmed with the appearance of F. hepatica egg by a parasitologist in the feces. However, stool examination alone may not be enough for the diagnosis in all stages of the infection, because the parasite cannot produce eggs before invasion of biliary tract [22] . Besides examination of stool, serological tests as indirect hemagglutination are more valuable for diagnosis and can be used in all stages, including the acute stage when the eggs are not excreted in the feces yet, and in the evaluation of the treatment outcome [6,23] .…”

Fasciola Hepatica Case with Hemobilia

“…Most of the symptoms depend on sensitivity to secretions (attacks of urticaria, migraine episodes, quincke edema). These signs disappear in the chronic phase, when cholestasis and cholangitis signs are observed due to the presence of the parasite in the biliary tracts (3,15). Severe complications like hemorrhage are rarely seen.…”

Two Rare Causes of Hepatitis: Fascioliasis and Brucellosis

“…The eggs are released intermittently from the bile ducts, thus, stool samples may not contain eggs even in infected patients. Therefore it is necessary to perform consecutive analyses of samples (8,9).…”