Life cycle of the Liver Fluke: Fasciola hepatica

This video of the life cycle of the globally significant parasite of sheep and cattle; the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica was produced in collaboration with parasitologist Dr Clive Bennett (University of Southampton, retired)

This video shows state of the art microscopy of the different stages of development throughout the life cycle including larval stages, mollusc infection and the hatching of juvenile flukes that cross the gut of sheep and cattle and migrate to the liver. We see the adult flukes living in a simulated bile duct, stages that we cannot normally see.

This video shows the enormous biotic potential of Fasciola sp. and what livestock farmers are up against to control its spread and severity.

Much more rarely it can also infect humans.