Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes or trematodes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive host, where the flukes sexually reproduce, is a vertebrate. Infection by trematodes can cause disease in all five traditional vertebrate classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish.
Puntius is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan.
Clonorchis sinensis, the Chinese liver fluke, is a liver fluke belonging to the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects fish-eating mammals, including humans. In humans, it infects the common bile duct and gall bladder, feeding on bile. It was discovered by British physician James McConnell at the Medical College Hospital in Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1874. The first description was given by Thomas Spencer Cobbold, who named it Distoma sinense. The fluke passes its lifecycle in three different hosts, namely freshwater snail as first intermediate hosts, freshwater fish as second intermediate host, and mammals as definitive hosts.
Opisthorchis viverrini, common name Southeast Asian liver fluke, is a food-borne trematode parasite from the family Opisthorchiidae that infects the bile duct. People are infected after eating raw or undercooked fish. Infection with the parasite is called opisthorchiasis. O. viverrini infection also increases the risk of cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile ducts.
The longtail stingray, is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Colombia. It inhabits sandy habitats down to a depth of 90 m (300 ft). Measuring up to 1.56 m (5.1 ft) across, this species has a rhomboid pectoral fin disc, a lower fin fold on the tail, and numerous dermal denticles along the back and behind the stinging spine. The longtail stingray feeds mainly on bottom-dwelling bony fishes and crustaceans. It is aplacental viviparous, with females giving birth to 1–5 young in late summer. It is caught for food, likely throughout its range, but specific fishery data is lacking.
Opisthorchiasis is a parasitic disease caused by certain species of genus Opisthorchis. Chronic infection may lead to cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the bile ducts.
Liver fluke is a collective name of a polyphyletic group of parasitic trematodes under the phylum Platyhelminthes. They are principally parasites of the liver of various mammals, including humans. Capable of moving along the blood circulation, they can occur also in bile ducts, gallbladder, and liver parenchyma. In these organs, they produce pathological lesions leading to parasitic diseases. They have complex life cycles requiring two or three different hosts, with free-living larval stages in water.
The diamond stingray is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae. It is found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern California to northern Chile, and around the Galápagos and Hawaiian Islands. This bottom-dweller generally inhabits sandy or muddy flats near rocky reefs and kelp forests, to a depth of 30 m (98 ft), though off Hawaii it may range considerably deeper. As its common name suggests, this species has an angular, diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc that is plain brown or gray above, with rows of tubercles along the midline and on the "shoulders". The long, whip-like tail has both dorsal and ventral fin folds, which distinguish this ray from the closely similar longtail stingray. It typically grows to 1 m (3.3 ft) across.
The mangrove rivulus or mangrove killifish, Kryptolebias marmoratus, is a species of killifish in the family Rivulidae. It lives in brackish and marine waters along the coasts of Florida, through the Antilles, and along the eastern and northern Atlantic coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America. It has a very wide tolerance of both salinity and temperature, can survive for about two months on land, and mostly breeds by self-fertilization. It is typically found in areas with red mangrove and sometimes lives in burrows of Cardisoma guanhumi crabs.
Opisthorchis is a genus of flukes in the family Opisthorchiidae.
Heterophyes heterophyes, or the intestinal fish fluke, was discovered by Theodor Maximaillian Bilharz in 1851. This parasite was found during an autopsy of an Egyptian mummy. H. heterophyes is found in the Middle East, West Europe and Africa. They use different species to complete their complex lifestyle. Humans and other mammals are the definitive host, first intermediate host are snails, and second intermediate are fish. Mammals that come in contact with the parasite are dogs, humans, and cats. Snails that are affected by this parasite are the Cerithideopsilla conica. Fish that come in contact with this parasite are Mugil cephalus, Tilapia milotica, Aphanius fasciatus, and Acanthgobius sp. Humans and mammals will come in contact with this parasite by the consumption of contaminated or raw fish. This parasite is one of the smallest endoparasite to infect humans. It can cause intestinal infection called heterophyiasis.
Bithynia siamensis is a species of a freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic prosobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Bithyniidae.
Opisthorchiidae is a family of digenean trematodes. Opisthorchiidae have cosmopolitan distribution.
Koi is a "salad" dish of the Lao people living in modern-day Laos and Isan, Thailand, consisting of raw meat denatured by acidity, usually from lime juice. Common varieties include koi kung, with shrimp as the main ingredient, and koi paa /koi pla, which consists of minced or finely chopped raw fish in spicy salad dressing.
Haplorchis taichui is a species of intestinal fluke in the family Heterophyidae. It is a human parasite.
The Diplectanidae are a family of monopisthocotylean monogeneans. They are all parasitic on the gills of fish. Diplectanids are small animals, generally around 1 mm in length. As parasites, they can be extremely numerous, up to several thousand on an individual fish.
Carcinogenic parasites are parasitic organisms that depend on other organisms for their survival, and cause cancer in such hosts. Three species of flukes (trematodes) are medically-proven carcinogenic parasites, namely the urinary blood fluke, the Southeast Asian liver fluke and the Chinese liver fluke. S. haematobium is prevalent in Africa and the Middle East, and is the leading cause of bladder cancer. O. viverrini and C. sinensis are both found in eastern and southeastern Asia, and are responsible for cholangiocarcinoma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared them in 2009 as a Group 1 biological carcinogens in humans.
Gyraulus convexiusculus is a species of freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails.
