Fluke

fluke, also called blood fluke or trematode, any member of the invertebrate class Trematoda (phylum Platyhelminthes), a group of parasitic flatworms that probably evolved from free-living forms millions of years ago. There are more than 10,000 species of flukes. They occur worldwide and range in size from about 5 millimetres (0.2 inch) to several centimetres; most do not exceed 100 millimetres (4 inches) in length.

Flukes parasitize members of all vertebrate classes but most commonly parasitize fish, frogs, and turtles; they also parasitize humans, domestic animals, and invertebrates such as mollusks and crustaceans. Some are external parasites (ectoparasites); some attach themselves to internal organs (endoparasites); others are semi-external, attaching themselves to the lining of the mouth, to the gills, or to the cloaca (the end of the digestive tract). Some attack a single host, while others require two or more hosts.

The symmetrical body of a fluke is covered with a noncellular cuticle. Most are flattened and leaflike or ribbonlike, although some are stout and circular in cross section. Muscular suckers on the ventral (bottom) surface, hooks, and spines are used for attachment. The body is solid and filled with a spongy connective tissue (mesenchyme) that surrounds all the body organs. A circulatory system is absent. The digestive system consists of a simple sac with a mouth either at the anterior end or in the middle of the ventral surface. An anus is usually absent, but some species have one or two anal pores. The nervous system consists of a pair of anterior ganglia, or nerve centres, and usually three pairs of lengthwise nerve cords.

Most species are hermaphroditic; i.e., functional reproductive organs of both sexes occur in the same individual. In some, however, the sexes are separate. Most species pass through egg, larval, and mature stages.

Blood flukes occur in most types of vertebrates; three species attack humans: the urinary blood fluke (Schistosoma haematobium), the intestinal blood fluke (S. mansoni), and the Oriental blood fluke (S. japonicum). The human diseases caused by them are known as schistosomiasis (bilharziasis); they affect millions of persons, particularly in Africa and east Asia.

The urinary blood fluke (S. haematobium), which lives in the veins of the urinary bladder, occurs mainly in Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East. Eggs, laid in the veins, break through the vein wall into the bladder and are voided during urination. The larval fluke develops in the body of a snail (chiefly of the genera Bulinus and Physopsis), the intermediate host. The mature larva makes its way into the body of the final host, man, through the skin or the mouth.

The intestinal blood fluke (S. mansoni), which lives in the veins around the large and small intestines, occurs primarily in Africa and in northern South America. The eggs pass from the host with the feces. The larva enters the body of a snail (any of several genera), the intermediate host, and returns to a human host through the skin.

The Oriental blood fluke, which occurs primarily in China, Japan, Taiwan, the East Indies, and the Philippine Islands, differs from S. mansoni and S. haematobium in that it may attack vertebrates other than man, including various domestic animals, rats, and mice. Snails of the genus Oncomelania are the intermediate host. The adult occurs in the veins of the small intestine. Some eggs are carried in the bloodstream to various organs and may cause a variety of symptoms, including enlargement of the liver. Human hosts may die from severe infestations.

Flukes of detrimental economic significance to man include the widely occurring giant liver fluke of cattle (Fasciola hepatica) and the Chinese, or Oriental, liver fluke (Opisthorchis sinensis, or Clonorchis sinensis). F. hepatica causes the highly destructive “liver rot” in sheep and other domestic animals. Man may become infested with this fluke by eating uncooked vegetables.

The Chinese liver fluke infests a variety of mammals, including man. In addition to the snail as an intermediate host, the Chinese liver fluke infests fish as a second intermediate host before passing to the final host. The cat liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus, which may also infest man as the final host, also requires a freshwater snail (Bithynia leachii) and a carp as its secondary intermediate hosts.