Metorchis conjunctus

This species was discovered and described by Thomas Spencer Cobbold in 1860. ==Distribution==

The distribution of M. conjunctus includes: • East Greenland • From Quebec to Saskatchewan • Maine, Connecticut, South Carolina, US ==Description==

The body of M. conjunctus is pear-shaped and flat. The body length is . It has a weakly muscular terminal oral sucker. No prepharynx is present. The pharynx is strongly muscular. The esophagus is very short. The intestinal ceca vary from almost straight to sinuous. The acetabulum is slightly oval and weakly muscular. The male has an anterior testis and a posterior testis. The testes vary from almost round to oval, and may be deeply lobed or slightly indented. No cirrus pouch is found. The seminal vesicle is slender. The ovary is trilobed. The receptaculum seminis is elongated or pyriform, and slightly twisted, and situated to the right and behind the ovary. The eggs are oval and yellowish brown. ==Lifecycle==

The first intermediate host of M. conjunctus is a freshwater snail, Amnicola limosus. The second intermediate host is a freshwater fish: Catostomus catostomus, red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), coyotes (Canis latrans), raccoons (Procyon lotor), or bears. It can also infect humans. It lives in the bile duct and in the gallbladder. ==Effects on human health==

M. conjunctus causes a disease called metorchiasis. It has been known to infect humans since 1946. It was the first symptomatic disease in humans caused by M. conjunctus. Diagnosis and treatment Eggs of M. conjunctus can be found by stool analysis. ==Effects on animal health==

Watson and Croll (1981) studied symptoms of cats. Prevention includes feeding with cooked fish (not raw fish). M. conjunctus was found to be a common infection of domestic dogs in First Nations settlements in 1973. It has been in found in other animals including raccoons, minks, and gray foxes. The prevalence of M. conjunctus in wolves in Canada is 1–3%. In wolves, M. conjunctus causes cholangiohepatitis with periductular fibrosis in the liver. It sometimes causes chronic inflammation and fibrosis of the pancreas in wolves. ==References==