clonorchiasis

A disease caused by the fluke Clonorchis sinensis, affecting the distal bile ducts of humans and other fish-eating animals after ingestion of raw, smoked, or undercooked fish or raw crayfish; initial infection may be benign, but repeated or chronic infection induces an intense proliferative and granulomatous condition. SYN: clonorchiosis.

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clo·nor·chi·a·sis .klō-nȯr-'kī-ə-səs also clo·nor·chi·o·sis -(.)nȯr-kē-'ō-səs n, pl -a·ses -.sēz also -o·ses -.sēz infestation with or disease caused by the Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) that invades bile ducts of the liver after ingestion in uncooked fish and when present in numbers causes severe systemic reactions including edema, liver enlargement, and diarrhea

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n.

a condition caused by the presence of the fluke Clonorchis sinensis in the bile ducts. The infection, common in the Far East, is acquired through eating undercooked, salted, or pickled freshwater fish harbouring the larval stage of the parasite. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, liver enlargement, loss of appetite, emaciation and - in advanced cases - cirrhosis and jaundice. Treatment is unsatisfactory although praziquantel has proved beneficial in some cases.

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clo·nor·chi·a·sis (klo″nor-kiґə-sis) a type of opisthorchiasis seen in East and Southeast Asia, caused by infestation of biliary passages by the liver fluke Opisthorchis sinensis (Clonorchis sinensis); it may lead to inflammation of the biliary tree, proliferation of the biliary epithelium, progressive portal fibrosis, and sometimes biliary duct carcinoma; extension into the liver parenchyma may lead to fatty change and cirrhosis. Called also clonorchiosis.