Lung Fluke Infection: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

Human lung fluke disease comes from a food-borne parasite and is most common in South America and Asia. The fluke itself is reddish-brown and is about the size of a coffee bean.

Paragonimus Westermani

• Paragonimus westermani is by far the most typical variety of lung fluke. The worm itself is covered in scales and can cause severe chronic lung inflammation.

Symptoms

• Human lung fluke disease can be difficult to diagnose because of the relative dearth of symptoms. Other than the presence of a cough, fever, chills, loss of appetite, indigestion and night sweats̵2;all common symptoms of other conditions̵2;there aren't substantial indicators.

How it Enters the Body

• Paragonimus westermani usually enters the body via encysted larvae in crabs and crayfish.

Other Flukes

• Though Paragonimus westermani accounts for the vast majority of human infections, other flukes that have entered humans include P.Uterobilateralis, P.Ohirai, P.Peruvianus, P.Mexicanus, P.Iloktsuensis, P.Africanus, P.Caliensis and P.Kellicotti.

Naming

• Paragonimus westermani was named after a zookeeper who first discovered the fluke in a Bengal tiger in 1878.