Animals Involved
Ruminants, especially sheep, goats, cattle, occasionally other domestic and wild mammals are definitive hosts; land snails (first) and ants (second) are intermediate hosts
Known Distributions
D dendriticum on all major continents (may be focal); D hospes in Africa south of Sahara desert
Probable Means of Spreading
Ingestion of infected ants
Clinical Manifestations in People
Abdominal discomfort, flatulent indigestion; occasionally GI signs (diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, pain); weight loss, fatigue; biliary obstruction, cholangitis, hepatomegaly, or acute urticaria possible