Parasitic Infections
The enlargement of the liver could be due to parasitic infections when people swallow cysts (sacs) with fluke larvae from contaminated watercress or undercooked, raw, dried, pickled, or salt-cured freshwater fish. Depending on the species that caused the infection and its intensity, the person could experience abdominal discomfort, chills, fever, itching, weight loss, diarrhea, and jaundice.
Doctors can diagnose the infection when they see the contents of their intestine or fluke eggs in their stool. Flukes are parasitic worms, and those that cause liver infections include Clonorchis sinensis (Chinese or oriental liver fluke), O. felineus (cat liver fluke), Opisthorchis viverrini (Southeast Asian liver fluke), and Fasciola hepatica (sheep liver fluke or common liver fluke).
After a person swallows the cysts, the larvae leave the sacs in the intestine and enter the bile duct into the liver or sometimes, into the gallbladder. They develop into adults and produce eggs in these vital organs. The mature eggs pass into the stools, which can then infects snails, continuing the cycle.
Staph aureus, E. coli, and Strep. Milleri may cause liver abscesses, while Entamoeba histolytica causes an amebic liver abscess.
