CLONORCHIASIS

chronic infection caused by Clonorchis sinensis, or liver fluke, a parasitic worm some 10 to 25 mm (0.4 to 1 inch) long that lives in the bile ducts of the liver in humans and other mammals. Clonorchiasis is a common disease in China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan and is acquired by eating freshwater fish containing the fluke larvae. The fish are themselves infected by swallowing the larvae, which have earlier undergone a stage of their development in the liver glands of water snails. Raw as well as smoked, salted, or dried fish may constitute a source of human infestation. Early in the infection, there may be signs of indigestion, followed later by enlargement and tenderness of the liver and a light jaundice. Frequently there are no symptoms. Heavy infestations (as many as 21,000 worms) may involve the pancreas and gallbladder and may be associated with fluid accumulation in the abdomen and signs of general body toxicity. No completely effective treatment for clonorchiasis is known; some success has been obtained with chemotherapeutic agents, such as chloroquine, that are toxic to the fluke. Infection can be prevented by thoroughly cooking all freshwater fish.