Digenetic Trematodes: an existence as parasites. Brief general overview

Abstract

Digenea is a wide and diverse group of trematodes, whose members are able to parasitize all classes of vertebrates, and several groups of invertebrates.While the usual life-cycle involves three hosts, a great number of species has evolved to increase or to reduce the number of hosts during development, in order to be more successful in their ecological niche. Differently from other trematodes, digenetic flukes can infect humans, and this process can cause severe diseases like schistosomiasis, which infects around 200 million people worldwide. Finally, digenetic trematodes are not only a threat to humans’ health, but also to the economy, causing millions of dollars losses in activities such as aquaculture and animal husbandry.