What are trematode worms?
What are trematode worms?
Trematodes, or flukes, are parasitic flatworms with unique life cycles involving sexual reproduction in mammalian and other vertebrate definitive hosts and asexual reproduction in snail intermediate hosts.
What is the function of trematodes?
Using the powerful muscular pharynx that makes up the mouth part, trematodes (both the larvae and adult stages) are able to suck food from the host as they remain attached using both the posterior and ventral suckers.
Which disease is caused by trematodes?
Key facts
| Disease | Infectious agent | Acquired through consumption of |
|---|---|---|
| Clonorchiasis | Clonorchis sinensis | Freshwater fish |
| Opisthorchiasis | Opisthorchis viverrini, O. felineus | Freshwater fish |
| Fascioliasis | Fasciola hepatica, F. gigantica | Aquatic vegetables |
| Paragonimiasis | Paragonimus spp. | Freshwater crustaceans (crabs and crayfish) |
What do trematodes do to humans?
Foodborne trematodes cause infection in humans via the consumption of contaminated food (raw fish, crustaceans or vegetables). Infection can result in severe liver and lung disease and together these diseases are estimated to cause 2 million life years lost to disability and death worldwide every year.
How do I get rid of trematodes on my dog?
What is the treatment? Although no commercial products are specifically labeled for the treatment of lung flukes in dogs, there are several antiparasitic drugs that are effective for treating this infection. Dogs can be treated with antiparasitic drugs such as praziquantel or Fenbendazole (Panacur™).
Where do trematodes come from?
Pathophysiology
| Trematode | Definitive Host | Source of Infection |
|---|---|---|
| P westermani | Humans, wolves, foxes, tigers, leopards, lions, cats, dogs, and monkeys | Ingestion of freshwater crabs or crayfish infected with metacercariae |
| F buski | Pigs and humans | Ingestion of freshwater aquatic plants that harbor metacercariae |
How are trematodes transmitted?
Transmission of trematodiases can occur through the consumption of water and food that is contaminated with trematodes in the larval stages of their life cycle. In a host organism, eggs of trematodes can spread through faeces, and sputum if the host is infected by a lung fluke.
How do I get rid of trematodes?
Praziquantel remains the drug of choice for all trematode infections except fascioliasis, for which triclabendazole is the drug of choice. Triclabendazole was approved in the United States in 2019 for fascioliasis in patients aged 6 years or older after being available from the CDC for many years.
Can humans get trematodes from dogs?
Dogs and cats infected with trematodes do not pose a direct zoonotic infection risk to people. However, people can acquire infection with N. salmincola following ingestion of metacercariae in undercooked fish.
How do dogs get trematodes?
Dogs and cats become infected when they eat the raw, infected fish. Infection with the fluke in and of itself causes only mild enteritis, but N salmincola serves as a vector for Neorickettsia helminthoeca, a rickettsial organism that causes salmon poisoning disease in dogs.
How do trematodes eat?
Trematodes are parasitic flatworms commonly known as flukes. These flattened oval or worm-shaped creatures feed off their hosts’ blood using muscular, pumping mouths — as they have no anuses, their bodily wastes blurt out from their mouths as well. [Video – Watch a trematode devour its enemy whole.]
