Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T05:32:22.687Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

VIII.52 - Fasciolopsiasis

from Part VIII - Major Human Diseases Past and Present

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Kenneth F. Kiple
Affiliation:
Bowling Green State University, Ohio
Get access

Summary

Fasciolopsiasis is caused by the giant intestinal fluke, Fasciolopsis buski. Discovered in 1843, the organism occurs in China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and parts of India and Indonesia. The adult worm, which has a life-span of only 6 months, attaches itself to the wall of the small intestine of humans. Pigs and dogs can also be infected, and sometimes are important reservoir hosts. Eggs produced by the hermaphroditic adults pass out in the feces and, if they reach fresh water, produce motile larvae that penetrate into the tissues of certain planorbid snails. After two generations of reproduction, another motile form leaves the snail, finds a plant like the water chestnut, water caltrop, or water bamboo, and encysts on it. Humans become infected with cysts by peeling raw fruits of plants with their teeth or eating them uncooked. The disease can become very prevalent in areas where these plants are cultivated with human feces as fertilizer.

Mild infections are often asymptomatic, but flukes can irritate and even ulcerate the intestinal mucosa. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, and fluid accumulation in the abdomen are common symptoms. Extreme cases can be fatal. Diagnosis is made by discovery of the eggs in the feces. Drug therapy is usually effective. Prevention includes better rural sanitation and control of swine reservoir hosts. Cooking vegetables would also be very beneficial, but drastic changes in long-established culinary habits are unlikely.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Kean, B. H., Mott, Kenneth E., and Russell, Adair J., eds. 1978. Tropical medicine and parasitology: Classic investigations, Vol. II. Ithaca and London.Google Scholar
Sadun, E. H., and Maiphoom, C.. 1953. Studies on the epidemiology of the human intestinal fluke. Fasciolopsis buski (Lankester) in central Thailand. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×