includes: Fasciola, Paragonimus, Heterophyes, schistosoma, metagonemus, alaria, Opisthorchis and Dicrocoelium.
Flukes are smaller parasites that attach themselves to a variety of organs, including the lungs, heart, intestines, brain, bladder, liver and blood vessels, causing inflammation and damage. Fluke eggs have tiny, protruding spines that can cause damage as they migrate through the body. People become infected by eating raw or under cooked fish or crab, eating infected vegetables like water chestnut or watercress, or drinking or wading through infected water.

Invasion of the Fluke

Flukes are flat worms that have two ventral suckers that allow them to attach to their hosts. The source of infection is often through ingestion of raw or under cooked fish or crab, ingesting infected vegetation like water chestnuts, caltop, watercress, or drinking or wading in infected water.
Once the fluke is inside the body they migrate to different areas causing inflammation and damage along the way. Each egg has tiny spines on the outside that can cause great damage. They also release toxic metabolic waste that may cause damage to tissue. They may end up in the lungs, the heart, the intestines, the brain, the bladder, the liver and the blood.

A) Hepatic Fluke (Fasciola hepatica) is found worldwide in sheep raising areas but is not common in the USA. The source of infection is said to be through the ingestion of watercress plant (Nasturtium officinale).
Common symptoms include cysts in the gall bladder and Hepatic colic.

B) Blood fluke (Schistosoma japonicum) is found in the Orient.
Blood fluke (Schistosoma mansoni) is found in Africa and in Latin America.
Blood fluke (Schistosoma Haimatobium) is found in Africa and the Near East.
Blood fluke (Schistosoma related spp) is found worldwide.

Blood flukes are tiny flat worms that undermine the health of the blood. These creatures have a hook with which they hook to the blood cells. These blood flukes can cause adults to have blood clots, sleep disturbances and eventually affect the bone marrow.
The source of infection is through swimming in infected water. Simple contact with the skin of infected water is all it takes to transmit these unwelcome guests.

Common symptoms include dysentery, fibrosis of intestinal, bladder, or walls of the liver, and “swimmer’s ear”.

C) Pulminary fluke (Paragonimus westermani) is a tiny flat worm that undermines the health of the lungs. Lung flukes weaken the lungs, perforating the lung tissue and starving the entire blood of oxygen.
These flukes are found in Africa, the Orient, Latin America and the USA. The source of infection is through the ingestion of contaminated crabs, and crayfish and in the USA only, wild mammals and hogs. Common symptoms include bronchial distress, repeated flu, pneumonia and fungus infections.

D) Intestinal Flukes (Fasciolopsis buski) are rare in the USA but more prevalent in the orient and the tropics. The source of infection is through ingesting contaminated vegetation. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea and intestinal obstruction. It is common to experience not symptoms when infected with the intestinal fluke.