Dicrocoelium Dendriticum - Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic Tests

Traditionally, diagnosis for dicrocoeliasis infection involves the identification of Dicrocoelium dendriticum eggs in the faeces of a human or other animal. However, in humans, eggs in the stool may be a result of ingesting raw infected animal liver and may not in fact indicate dicrocoeliasis. Therefore, examining bile or duodenal fluid for eggs is a more accurate diagnostic technique.

In animals, diagnosis has traditionally involved stool examination or post-mortem examination of the liver. Recently, an ELISA using a Dicrocoelium dendriticum antigen was able to identify cases of dicrocoeliasis in sheep in Italy 28 days earlier than traditional methods.