Liver Fluke Parasite

• Context (DTE): Liver fluke parasite found in southern California’s Colorado River.
• Also called Heterobilharzia americana, it infects dogs when they wade or swim in freshwater inhabited by infected snails, which serve as the intermediate host.
• The parasite enters the dog’s body through the skin and migrates to the veins of the intestinal lining.
• It then develops into an adult and mates, laying eggs that can affect the lungs, spleen, liver, and heart.
• This condition is known as canine schistosomiasis, causing severe debilitation.

Liver fluke

• Liver flukes are parasitic worms that cause a disease.
• Habitat: It primarily parasitizes the liver of various mammals, including humans. It can also be found in bile ducts, gallbladder, and liver parenchyma.
• Pathological Effects: Liver flukes induce pathological lesions in the liver and associated organs, leading to parasitic diseases.
• Movement: They are capable of moving along the blood circulation, allowing them to migrate to different parts of the liver and associated structures.
• Life Cycle: Liver flukes have complex life cycles that typically involve 2 or 3 different hosts. They have free-living larval stages in water, indicating an aquatic phase of their life cycle.