ABSTRACT
Fascioliasis, a disease caused by the liver fluke Fasciola, is cosmopolitan in distribution and occurs in sheep- and cattle-raising countries of the world, parasitizing these animals and other herbivores on almost every continent and also on several islands. Fascioliasis has been known under various designations, among which are liver rot, fluke disease, cachexia aquosa, rot dropsy, fois douve, douve, and douve hepatique fasciole, mal de foie, cachexie aqueuse. Some Fasciola worms have been considered by taxonomists to deserve specific identity other than F. hepatica and F. gigantica. The operculated eggs of Fasciola are large, ovoid, and light yellowish-brown in color. Chloroquine was used for the treatment of human fascioliasis. It has been used in combination with emetine hydrochloride for the treatment of human fascioliasis. Reduction or eradication of Fasciola in the mammalian host through chemotherapeutic treatment of infected animals is theoretically an effective control measure for interrupting the life cycle of the parasite.
