and economic losses in the dairy and meat industries. Over the years, the prevalence has increased and it is likely to continue increasing in the future. Livestock are often treated with flukicides, chemicals toxic to flukes, including bromofenofos, triclabendazole, and bithionol. Ivermectin, which is widely used for many helminthic parasites, has low effectivity against F. hepatica, as does praziquantel. For humans, the type of control depends on the setting. One important method is through the strict control over the growth and sales of edible water plants such as watercress. This is particularly important in highly endemic areas. Some farms are irrigated with polluted water, hence, vegetables farmed from such land should be thoroughly washed and cooked before being eaten. The best way to prevent fasciolosis is by reducing the lymnaeid snail population or separating livestock from areas with these snails. These two methods are not always the most practical, so control by treating the herd before they are potentially infected is commonly practiced. Diagnosis A diagnosis may be made by finding yellow-brown eggs in the stool. They are indistinguishable from the eggs of Fascioloides magna, although the eggs of F. magna are very rarely passed in sheep, goats, or cattle. If a patient has eaten infected liver, and the eggs pass through the body and out via the faeces, a false positive result to the test can occur. Daily examination during a liver-free diet will unmask this false diagnosis. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test is the diagnostic test of choice. ELISA is available commercially and can detect antihepatica antibodies in serum and milk; new tests intended for use on faecal samples are being developed. Using ELISA is more specific than using a Western blot or Arc2 immunodiffusion. Proteases secreted by F. hepatica have been used experimentally in immunizing antigens. See also List of parasites (human) Veterinary parasitology Trematoda References External links University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web Parasite Fasciola(parasite.org.au) Stanford University Fascioliasis Info Page Encyclopedia of Life Taxonomy and nomenclature at ITIS.gov Molecular database at UniProt Hepatica Animal diseases Veterinary helminthology Animals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus