A liver fluke is a parasitic worm. Infections in humans usually occur after eating contaminated raw or undercooked freshwater fish or watercress. After liver flukes have been ingested, they travel from your intestines to your bile ducts in your liver where they then live and grow.
Although most infected individuals don’t show any symptoms, sometimes symptoms arise related to the biliary system. In rare cases, long-term complications can also develop.
Liver fluke infections aren’t common in the United States, but they do occur. Your risk of infection increases if you travel to parts of the world where the parasites are widespread.