Be careful when eating raw food, beware of insects

In recent years, as people's living standards continue to improve, eating habits have become increasingly diversified. People who are used to eating home-cooked meals have begun to explore new and exotic foods. Raw and semi-raw food habits are becoming increasingly popular, and reports of foodborne parasitic infections caused by this are also common.

When people are enjoying sashimi, raw beef, drunken shrimps and drunken crabs, do they realize that a large wave of "bugs" may be attacking us?

Below we will introduce you to common foodborne parasitic diseases.

What are foodborne parasitic diseases?

Foodborne parasitic diseases are a type of parasitic diseases that are caused by eating raw or undercooked foods containing infectious parasites.

Foodborne parasitic infections usually occur in two ways:

One is that food is contaminated by infective parasites, eggs or larvae and enters the human body through accidental ingestion;

The other is that the food itself contains parasites and is infected by eating raw or undercooked food.

Common foodborne parasitic diseases in my country include Clonorchiasis (liver fluke disease), Paragonimiasis (lung fluke disease), Taeniasis, and Angiostrongylus cantonensis.

Clonorchiasis

(Liver Fluke)

Clonorchis sinensis, also known as liver fluke, is an important predisposing organism for hepatobiliary cancer and liver cancer. Liver fluke disease is one of the most prevalent foodborne parasitic diseases in my country, with a wide distribution range, severe symptoms and a high disease burden.

People with mild infection of liver fluke disease often have no symptoms, but many patients will show a chronic course. After infection, they will gradually develop symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, upper abdominal discomfort, and abdominal distension. Large-scale reproduction can cause bile blockage, bile duct inflammation, liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis.

The final hosts of liver fluke are humans and carnivorous mammals (dogs, cats, etc.).

The first intermediate host is freshwater snails, such as the marsh snail;

The second intermediate host is freshwater fish and freshwater shrimp. People often become infected with liver flukes by eating undercooked freshwater fish or freshwater shrimp that contain liver fluke metacercariae.

Paragonimiasis

(Paragonimiasis)

Paragonimiasis, also known as lung fluke disease, is an important foodborne zoonosis caused by Paragonimiasis parasitizing in the host's lungs or migrating between internal organs. Cats, dogs, pigs, etc. can also be infected.

When people are infected with Paragonimiasis, they may experience symptoms and signs such as cough, chest pain, rust-colored bloody sputum, pleural lesions, subcutaneous masses, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. Parasitism in the brain can form multiple cysts in the brain, and cause symptoms such as severe headache, epilepsy, paralysis, vision loss, head and neck stiffness, and aphasia.

The first intermediate host of lung fluke is the Sichuan snail; the second intermediate host is stream crabs, crayfish crickets (parasitic on gills, muscles, etc.), etc.

Eating raw or half-cooked stream crabs and crayfish containing metacercariae can cause paragonimiasis.

Taeniasis

Human Taeniasis is caused by Taenia solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica. Taenia solium is a flat tapeworm that can grow to more than 6 meters long and has a segmented body that is white or light yellow.

Infection of the pork tapeworm in the brain, eyes, or spinal cord can cause severe headaches, blindness, convulsions, and seizures and can be fatal.

The intermediate hosts of tapeworm disease are pigs and cattle. Cysticerci mostly parasitize in the muscles, liver, brain and other organs of pigs and cattle. People who eat raw or undercooked pork (commonly known as "rice pork") or beef containing cysticerci may get Taeniasis solium or Taeniasis saginata.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis

Angiostrongylus cantonensis refers to a foodborne parasitic disease characterized by eosinophilic meningoencephalitis caused by the larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis parasitizing the human body.

When people are infected with Macrostrongylus nematodes, its larvae mainly invade the human central nervous system, manifesting as acute headache, neck stiffness, and meningeal irritation, leading to meningitis, encephalitis, spinal meningitis, and myelitis, which can cause death or disability and pose a great health hazard.

The Guangzhou roundworm mainly parasitizes rodents, and the Golden Apple snail is a common intermediate host. More than 1,600 larvae may lurk in one snail.

Humans become infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis by eating uncooked or raw shellfish such as snails, clams, oysters, frogs, toads, contaminated vegetables, fruits, or drinking raw water containing infectious larvae.

Stay away from parasitic diseases on the dining table.

To do this:

Purchase meat and aquatic products from regular shopping malls, supermarkets and farmers' markets; change the eating habits of eating raw or semi-raw meat and aquatic products, and make sure the meat and aquatic products are cooked thoroughly when eating hot pot or barbecue; wash hands before and after meals, do not drink raw water, and wash raw fruits and vegetables with running water; keep raw and cooked knives, cutting boards and containers in the kitchen separate and do not mix; people who are used to eating raw or semi-raw food should go to a professional medical institution as soon as possible if they have symptoms of suspected parasitic infection, so as to achieve early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment.