Diagnosis of liver fluke infection in cattle.

The Parasite Fasciola hepatica, the common liver fluke, is the most likely cause of liver fluke disease in domestic ruminants in the United States. The fluke life cycle requires a snail intermediate host to complete transmission to a new ruminant host. The parasite is most often found in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in the Pacific Northwest, in portions of the Rocky Mountains, and Hawaii. Other areas, such as Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas, have reported local cattle with fluke disease. This suggests liver flukes are expanding their range.