Clinical Features:
The main symptoms are diarrhea and colicky abdominal pain.  Migration of the eggs to the heart, resulting in potentially fatal myocardial and valvular damage, has been reported from the Philippines.  Migration to other organs (e.g., brain) has also been reported.

Laboratory Diagnosis:
The diagnosis is based on the microscopic identification of eggs in the stool.  However, the eggs are indistinguishable from those of Metagonimus yokogawai and resemble those of Clonorchis and Opisthorchis.

Treatment:
Praziquantel* is the drug of choice.  For additional information, see the recommendations in The Medical Letter (Drugs for Parasitic Infections).

* This drug is approved by the FDA, but considered investigational for this purpose.