[Hepatic schistosomiasis: diagnostic difficulties in a non endemic area]

Schistosomiasis is a major cause of liver damage and portal hypertension, especially in tropical countries, affecting about 200 million people in the world. We report the cases of two patients presenting persistent alterations of serum liver enzymes. We enhance the importance of considering the history of past travels and a liver biopsy to diagnose an infrequent parasite induced liver disease in a non endemic area such as Portugal. Some observations are made about the diagnosis and treatment of this parasitic disease.