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This slide shows an adult specimen of the lung fluke Paragonimus westermani. Found in east Asia, southwest Pacific and some parts of South America, the fluke parasitizes a number of wild carnivores, pigs, rodents and humans. Infection with lung flukes causes respiratory symptoms, with breathing difficulties and chronic cough, and fatalities are common! Humans get infected with lung flukes by eating raw or poorly-cooked freshwater crabs containing the fluke metacercariae.
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