An infestation of the small intestine with the parasitic fluke Heterophyes beterophyes. Man becomes infected on eating raw or salted fish that contains the larval stage of the fluke. The presence of adult flukes may provoke symptoms of abdominal pain and diarrhea; if the eggs reach the brain, spinal cord, and heart (via the bloodstream) they produce serious lesions. Tetrachloroethylene is used in treatment of the infection.
Infestation by any fluke belonging to the family Heterophyidae.