Fish that come in contact with this parasite are Mugil cephalus, Tilapia milotica, Aphanius fasciatus, and Acanthgobius sp.

[5] This species occurs in Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Brazil, Spain, Turkey, Iran, India, and Russia.

[6] Common in North Africa, Asia Minor, Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

[10] The eggs that are laid contain a miracidium but do not hatch until they are ingested by a snail (Cerithideopsilla conica[6] in Egypt or Cerithidia cingula[citation needed] in Japan).

The rediae produce cercariae which then exit the snail, swim toward the surface of the water, and slowly fall back down.

The second intermediate host include freshwater fish: Mugil cephalus, Tilapia nilotica, Aphanius fasciatus, and Acanthogobius sp.

[6] The definitive host, such as humans or birds, eats the undercooked or raw meat of a fish and ingest the parasite.

Infection is acquired by eating raw fish, a common food in areas of heavy endemicity.

It is common practice for people to defecate on the lake shores and river banks or from their boats while fishing.

Sometimes eggs can enter the blood and lymph vascular systems through mucosa go into the ectopic sites in the body.

Antigen and immune complex deposits left by H. heterophyes in the brain and kidneys of mice prove that there are changes in these tissues of the infected.

[13] Diagnosis done by stool examination is difficult when adult worms are not present because the eggs are hard to distinguish from C. sinensis.