Fascioliasis animal parasitic disease

Fascioliasis is an animal parasitic disease (in cattle and sheep, but also pigs, donkeys, Llamas and alpacas that can be transmitted to humans. The infection is caught when aquatic or semi-aquatic plants with the larvae of the worm attached to their stem or leaves are ingested raw or poorly cooked. Once in the human body, the worm lodges itself in the main bile ducts and is responsible for severe morbidity. Endemic areas are distributed globally, but some of the most affected communities are found in the Andean highlands of South America. Triclabendazole is the only drug recommended for prevention and treatment and is provided free-of-charge to endemic countries through WHO. It can be distributed in mass interventions when clusters of cases are detected.