Human Infection with the Pancreas Fluke, Eurytrema pancreaticum

A 70-year-old Japanese woman with gastric cancer in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, was found at autopsy to have about 15 adult flukes, Eurytrema pancreaticum, in the dilated pancreatic ducts. The number of eosinophils in the blood was within normal limits. The two worms which were least damaged when removed from the gland were used for stained specimens, and another two were macerated to collect the eggs. The parasites (10 X 5, 11 X 7 mm in size) were broad, flattened, oval to fusiform. The suckers were large, the oral (2.1 X 2.0, 2.0 X 1.9 mm) being larger than the ventral (1.6 X 1.6, 1.4 X 1.5 mm). The eggs (47.06 +/- 3.88 X 30.35 +/- 2.74 microns) were embryonated in the uterus. These findings led to the identification of E. pancreaticum. This is the second documented case of eurytremiasis in man.