Bilharzia fluke. Light micrograph of male & female blood flukes, Schistosoma mansoni. These parasites cause the disease bilharzia. The female (long &

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Bilharzia fluke. Light micrograph of male & female blood flukes, Schistosoma mansoni. These parasites cause the disease bilharzia. The female (long & thin) lives in a groove in the male's thick body & is continually fertilised. S. mansoni larvae live in water & infect their hosts by penetrating the skin. They travel in the blood until they reach the liver, feeding on blood. After 2 to 3 weeks they migrate to the intestinal blood vessels, mate & produce eggs which pass into the intestine. These are excreted & infect aquatic snails before being released again to infect humans. Bilharzia symptoms include abdominal pain, fever and bloody dysentery. Magnification: x10 at 6x7cm size.

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Size: 3921px × 4843px
Photo credit: © EYE OF SCIENCE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ., animal, bilharzia, blood, flatworm, fluke, human, intestinal, invertebrate, invertebrates, light, liver, mansoni, micrograph, nature, parasite, platyhelminthes, schistosoma, sp., wildlife, zoology