Another human fluke, Opisthorchis felineus, inhabits the gall bladder and bile ducts of man and it is stated that the infection is quite common in Siberia.
It is also a parasite of cats and dogs.
Both Clonorchis and Opisthorchis have the testicles in the posterior end with the uterus anterior. The testicles of Clonorchis are branched (dendritic) while those of Opisthorchis show as two lobes. In Dicrocoelium the lobed testicles are anterior to the uterus, which fills up the posterior end of the fluke.
The mode of infection as well as the life history is not known but is probably connected with the eating of raw fish.
The symptoms are similar to those caused by C. endemicus.
The fluke has two-lobed testicles as against the dendritic one of C. endemicus.
Intestinal Distomiasis
The most important intestinal fluke is undoubtedly Fasciolopsis buski. It is now thought that this infection is more common than was previously stated. Goddard states that more than 5% of stools examined in Shaohing, China, show eggs of this parasite. It is a very large fluke with an acetabulum 4 times the diameter of the oral sucker. It is characterized by a very long and prominent cirrus.
F. buski and Fasciola hepatica are much alike in size and outline. The acetabulum of the latter is only 1.6 times the diameter of the oral sucker and the alimentary tract shows branching which is best seen in the cone-shaped projection of its anterior extremity. F. hepatica is a liver fluke rarely found in man.