page_title: Trematodiases
section_title: Treatment
hierarchical_section_title: Trematodiases / Treatment
context_page_description: Trematodiases, also known as trematode infections, are a group of diseases caused by the parasite trematodes. Symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the species, number and location of trematodes in the infected organism. Symptoms depend on type of trematode present, and include chest and abdominal pain, high temperature, digestion issues, cough and shortness of breath, diarrhoea and change in appetite.
  Trematodiases can be transmitted through food or water that contains larval forms of the parasite. Infections can be transmitted through aquatic organisms which act as a host for the maturity of the parasite. Foodborne trematodiases is transmitted when organisms ingest contaminated undercooked food including aquatic plants and organisms.
  Trematodiases can be prevented and controlled through public health programs aimed to educate people about how contaminated water and food can lead to infections. Education programs include raising awareness about the transmission of trematodiases through the consumption of food that is not cooked well such as fish, molluscs, and other aquatic animals and plants.
context_section_description: Treatment varies depending on the number of cases in an area. Chemotherapy drugs praziquantel and triclabendazole can be used in different amounts depending on the type of trematode infecting the organism, and its location in the body. In 2016, 600000 cases globally received treatment for foodborne trematodiases.
  Praziquantel can act on a broad range of trematodes by disrupting the homeostasis of calcium ions, and is used to treat liver, intestinal and lung fluke infections. It was introduced as a treatment option in 1975 and targets various trematodiases by impacting the trematode’s ability to move in the host. Adverse reactions to this treatment that may occur are mild, and include headache, abdominal pain and dizziness. Although it is very effective and safe in treating most trematodiases, praziquantel can cause hypersensitivity or allergic reactions in rare cases. It also cannot be used to treat the trematodiases fascioliasis.
  Triclabendazole is a narrow-spectrum treatment of trematodiases and is commonly used to treat fascioliasis. This anthelminthic is effective against the species Fasciola and Paragonimus. Although it was used in domestic livestock from 1983, the treatment was approved for use in humans in 1997 in Egypt. In 2019, it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating cases of human infections. Common adverse reactions to triclabendazole include dizziness, sweating, pain in abdomen, headaches and biliary colic, which is mainly caused by the removal of dead trematodes from the body’s hepatobiliary system.
  Preventive chemotherapy is a strategy used in areas where the number of cases and infection rates are very high, as all individuals in the given area are treated with medicine for trematodiases. This is used as an option to prevent further spread of the infection. For clonorchiasis and opisthorchiasis, when the incidence of cases exceeds 20%, all individuals are treated every year.
caption: Chemical structure of Paraziquantel, a chemotherapy drug used to treat most forms of trematodiases.