What is Fasciola hepatica?
{{italic title}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Fasciola hepatica'' | image = Fasciola_hepatica.JPG | image_caption = ''Fasciola hepatica'' – adult worm | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Platyhelminthes]] | classis = [[Trematoda]] | subclassis = [[Digenea]] | familia = [[Fasciolidae]] | genus = ''[[Fasciola]]'' | binomial = ''Fasciola hepatica'' | binomial_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758}} '''''Fasciola hepatica''''' (also known as the '''common liver fluke''') is a [[parasitism|parasitic]] [[trematode]] (fluke or flatworm) in the [[phylum]] [[Platyhelminthes]]. It infects the [[liver]]s of various [[mammal]]s, including humans. The disease caused by the fluke is called ''fascioliasis''. It has been classified as a neglected tropical disease.<ref>{{cite web|title=Neglected Tropical Diseases|url=https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/ntd/diseases/index.html|website=cdc.gov|accessdate=28 November 2014|date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> ''F. hepatica'' is worldwide. It has been known as an important parasite of [[sheep]] and [[cattle]] for hundreds of years. It causes great economic losses in sheep and cattle. Because of its size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species. [[File:Fasciola hepatica Life Cycle.tif|thumb|300px|Life cycle of ''Fasciola hepatica'' inside and outside of a human or animal body]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Parasites]] [[Category:Flatworms]]