Clonorchiasis

Clonorchiasis
Classification and external resources
Specialty	infectious disease, parasitology
ICD-10	B66.1
ICD-9-CM	121.1
DiseasesDB	29302
Patient UK	Clonorchiasis
MeSH	D003003
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Clonorchiasis is an infectious disease caused by the Chinese liver fluke, Clonorchis sinensis, and two related species. Clonorchiasis is a known risk factor for the development of cholangiocarcinoma, a neoplasm of the biliary system.

Symptoms of opisthorchiasis caused by Opisthorchis viverrini and by Opisthorchis felineus are indistinguishable from clonorchiasis caused by Clonorchis sinensis, so the disease by these three parasites should be referred as clonorchiasis.

Clonorchiasis sinensis is a trematode (fluke) which is part of the phylum Platyhelminthes. It is a hermaphroditic fluke that requires two intermediate hosts. The parasitic worm is as long as 10 to 25mm and lives in the bile ducts of the liver. The eggs of the worms are passed through fecal matter which are then ingested by mollusks. One becomes infected by eating undercooked, smoked, pickled salted freshwater fish. Freshwater fish are a second intermediate host for the parasitic worm. They become infected when the larvae (cercaria) of the worm penetrates the flesh of the fish. The water snail is the first intermediate host in which a miracidium (an embryonated egg discharged in stool) goes through its developmental stages (sporocyst, rediae and cercariae). Clonorchiasis is endemic in the Far East, especially in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Southern China. Clonorchiasis has been reported in non endemic areas (including the United States). In such cases, the infection follows the ingestion of imported, undercooked or pickled freshwater fish containing metacercariae.

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