Chinese man went to his doctor with stomach ache and itchy skin
Scans revealed his entire body had been infected with tapeworm
Doctors say this is due to the large amount of raw fish he had eaten
Cases such as this have increased due to the soaring popularity of sushi
By ANNA HODGEKISS
It is the most expensive - and many would argue delicious - part of a sushi menu.
But one man's love of sashimi nearly killed him after it led to his body becoming riddled with tapeworm.
The Chinese man had gone to his doctor complaining of stomach ache and itchy skin.
To his horror, scans revealed his entire body had been infected with tapeworm after eating too much sashimi - raw slices of fish.
One man's love of sashimi nearly killed him after it led to his body becoming riddled with tapeworm The Chinese man had seen his doctor complaining of stomach ache and itchy skin. Scans revealed his entire body had been infected with tapeworm parasites after eating too much sashimi - raw slices of fish
Doctors believe some of the uncooked Japanese delicacy of raw meat or fish must have become contaminated.
He was treated at the Guangzhou No. 8 People's Hospital in Guangdong Province, in eastern China.
Research has shown that eating raw or undercooked fish can lead to a variety of parasitic infections.
Tapeworm infections occur after ingesting the larvae of diphyllobothrium, found in freshwater fish such as salmon, although marinated and smoked fish can also transmit the worm.
While cases have increased in poorer areas due to improved sanitation, cases have increased in more developed countries,
HORRIFYING INFECTION THAT CAN GO UNNOTICED FOR MONTHS
Humans contract tapeworm infections from sushi by eating raw fish that has been infected with the worm in its larvae stage.
When fish eat tapeworm eggs, the hatching larvae attach themselves to the intestinal wall of the fish and the worms infect the fish flesh.
Because sushi is not cooked, the larvae can in turn transfer into the flesh of any human that eats the fish.
Once a human is infected, a tapeworm will grow inside the intestine to a length of up to 15metres over a period of weeks. It can survive for years and go undetected for weeks or months, in turn releasing its own eggs that infect other parts of the human body.
Symptoms include fatigue, constipation and abdominal discomfort - which can be so mild the victim may not notice anything is wrong.
If larvae begin to migrate to other parts of the body they can start to eat away at the liver, eyes, heart or brain and cause life-threatening conditions.
Parasites are living organisms that live off of a host organism. Parasites take and utilize the host organisms nutrients and in so doing hurt the host organism. Parasites take on a number of different forms and can thrive throughout the body. They most often live within the human intestines. It is estimated that about 50% of Americans have an abundance of parasitic organisms in their gut. Take action and cleanse your system of parasites naturally.
How do We Get Parasites?
Parasites enter the human body through the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. In 3rdworld countries the most common way to encounter parasites is through contaminated water. Anyone traveling to a foreign country should be cautious about drinking the water. Poor sanitation and poor hygiene are the most common ways people encounter parasites. In America, parasites are spread through pork products and shellfish as well as contaminated food and water.
There are thousands of different types of parasites that are common to humans. Protozoa consist of a single cell and multiply in enormous numbers inside the human intestine. The most commonly found protozoic parasites are giardia, neospora, amoebae, toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidium, and sarcocystis.
Parasites and Worms
Another form of parasite is the Helminth worm. This includes tapeworms, pinworms, hookworms, threadworms, roundworms and others. Many individuals doing a parasite cleanse will see the worms in their stools as they are eliminated from the body.
The body’s immune system goes after the parasites once they are identified. Often times the parasites are extremely strong and multiply too quickly for the immune system to keep them at bay. Some of the most common symptoms associated with intestinal parasites include diarrhea, gas, bloating, flu-like symptoms, nausea, rashes, joint pain, chronic fatigue, and chronic sinusitis.
Destroy Parasites in Your Body
Parasites love sugar and everything that turns into sugar. So the best way to starve the parasites is through using healthy fasting and cleansing strategies while eliminating as much sugar and grains as possible from the diet.
Several herbs and foods act as very strong anti-parasitic agents. Extra-virgin coconut oil is loaded with medium chain triglycerides that enhance the immune system in its battle against pathogens. Raw garlic and onions provide sulfur containing amino acids that are anti-parasitic. Eat six tablespoons of raw, extra virgin coconut oil, one whole clove of garlic, and one large red onion daily to help parasite proof your body.
Dried oregano and especially essential oil of oregano are extremely volatile and anti-parasitic. Use 2-3 drops of oregano oil in water with fresh squeezed lemon and drink this 3x daily. Clove works just as well so you could also substitute or use clove oil with oregano oil. Ginger, wormwood, black walnut are also commonly used in anti-parasitic strategies.
Fasting with fermented drinks such as fermented whey from grass-fed cows and fermented ginger, kombucha, coconut kefir, apple cider vinegar, etc. are powerful tools to help destroy parasites. Many holistic health coaches recommend a three to twenty-one day low calorie, liquid diet that is rich in fermented beverages, water and fresh squeezed lemon. Probiotic supplements are highly recommended to help destroy parasites and re-innoculate the gut.
After the cleansing period, it is especially important to utilize high quality fermented raw dairy and vegetables. Raw, grass-fed fermented dairy products like amasai & cheese and kimchi, sauerkraut, and fermented veggies should be used abundantly. These foods are rich sources of L-glutamine, an amino acid that helps rebuild the gut. These fermented foods also contain very powerful strains of good bacteria, organic acids, and enzymes that act to keep parasites out of the body. If you are in the market for supplements to help speed along the process of ridding the body of parasites I recommend Para-Shield and Oil of Oregano, two powerful supplements for ridding the body of parasites.”
HELENA HELMBY, SENIOR LECTURER AT LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE
Most people are fascinated, and probably equally repulsed, by parasites. And it may be something you think you only need to worry about if you go on holiday somewhere exotic. However, increasing globalization and transportation of food products across the globe means we are all increasingly at risk of catching something unwanted from our favorite foods
Many infections can be thwarted with proper hygiene — washing fruit and vegetables, including "ready-washed" lettuce, cooking meat properly and avoiding contamination from domestic or wild animals. A joint UN/WHO report said better farming and global food trade standards could also prevent parasites entering the food chain. Experts have ranked the 24 most damaging foodborne parasites according to number of cases, global distribution and health impact. Here are the top ten:
T.solium, also known as pork tapeworms, can measure up to 10m when mature and are among the biggest of these ribbon-like worms to infect humans. They do this through larval cysts in undercooked pork that hatch in the stomach and quickly grow into adult worms which inhabit the intestine, feeding on the nutrients you eat.
Disease is generally restricted to malnutrition as the worm competes with you for food — unless you ingest eggs rather than a cyst. These migrate around the body before forming larval cysts — a condition called cysticercosis — just like they do in the pigs. This can cause severe problems, particularly in the central nervous system (neurocysticercosis) where they can cause epileptic seizures. This is believed to be a main cause of epilepsy in many poorer parts of the world.
Another tapeworm, but only 3 to 7mm long, which causes a nasty disease called cystic echinococcosis (CE). The worm has a life cycle that normally cycles between carnivores (usually dogs), and sheep or other livestock. Humans become infected through accidental ingestion of eggs from dog feces, either through contaminated food products or from direct contact, or contaminated soil. The worm’s eggs are tough — they can remain infective for months, even in freezing temperatures.
More than a million cases of CE occur every year worldwide, mainly in areas where livestock, including camels, come in to close contact with dogs. After ingesting eggs, the parasite migrates, primarily to the liver. Slow-growing cysts form and symptoms may not be obvious until several years later. Cysts can contain several liters of fluid and are full of infectious larval stages called protoscoleces. Spontaneous rupture of the cysts can be very dangerous and lead to fatal shock.
Geographical distribution of this tapeworm is patchy but it’s found in both North America and Europe where prevalence is slowly increasing. Its life cycle normally involves foxes and small rodents but can happen in domestic dogs and even cats. In humans it causes a disease called alveolar echinococcosis, which forms cysts in internal organs. The cysts can reproduce and spread like tumors and be fatal if untreated. This infection is considered a risk factor for hunters who handle infected fox carcasses and people foraging for berries and mushrooms contaminated by fox feces.
T.gondii is a single-cell parasitic animal (protozoa) that can infect practically all warm-blooded mammals, but its life cycle normally takes place between cats and rodents. T.gondii is present in most countries and is one of the most widespread protozoan parasites affecting humans. Infection rate in humans varies between 10-80% of the population in different parts of the world and the parasite usually stays dormant in the tissues for the lifetime of the host — most infected people have no symptoms and never know they’re infected.
The most serious problems arise in pregnant women because the parasite can cross the placenta and cause fetal abnormalities or even miscarriage, which is why its advisable for them to avoid cleaning cat litter. Immunosuppressed individuals, such as HIV/AIDS and organ transplant patients, are also at risk because the parasite can start multiplying uncontrollably.
These protozoan parasites are mainly transmitted via contaminated water or food washed in contaminated water. Unpasteurized cider and milk, and contaminated shellfish have been implicated in several outbreaks. The parasite is present worldwide, including the UK, and infection is often caused by fecal contamination of water supplies by infected livestock. In healthy individuals the disease causes severe watery diarrhoea, which often rights itself. Thorough washing of fresh produce — including "ready washed" lettuces — is recommended.
Another protozoan parasite that infects the digestive tract causes amoebic dysentery. The disease is characterized by bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain that can become life threatening. More severe problems can occur if the parasite starts spreading from the intestine out into the body, causing abscesses in the liver and other organs.
Trichinella spiralis, is an intracellular "pork roundworm" responsible for trichinellosis, a muscle infection caught from eating raw or undercooked pork, or pork products such as smoked sausages. Other sources include game such as wild boar, and even walrus. Infected meat is contaminated with cysts, invisible to the eye, that contain a small larvae. When the meat is digested, these grow into adult worms that mate and produce thousands of new larvae, which travel out into the muscle tissues where they encyst, awaiting the current host to be eaten.
8. Opisthorchiidae
Clonorchis: from the Chinese branch of the family.
This is a family of flatworms, or flukes, mainly present in south-east Asia (though some species are also present in Europe and Russia). The infection is contracted through eating raw or undercooked freshwater fish that have themselves been snails infected with larvae. These develop into another type of larvae in fish, and when they are eaten by a mammal (such as a human) they turn into adult worms that make themselves at home in the bile duct and gall bladder. It then produces eggs that are excreted in faeces, which hatch to infect new snails when they reach a fresh water source.
Infected dogs and cats roaming freely in villages are often significant reservoirs of infection. Chronic long-term Opisthorchis infections are significantly associated with cancer of the liver and bile ducts. Freezing or cooking fish prevents infection — pickling, drying, salting or smoking fish won’t.
These are the largest of the human intestinal roundworms (up to 35cm) and with 25% of the world infected, is the most common parasite in humans. After ingestion, the eggs hatch into larvae in the intestine before undergoing a remarkable migration: they travel out of the intestine via the blood to the lungs, then migrate up the airways to the throat, where they get swallowed down into the stomach and back to the intestine again, where they finally develop into adult worms.
Each female worm produces hundreds of thousands of eggs per day which are excreted in the feces, contaminating the environment and further spreading the disease. A second species,Ascaris suum, was until recently believed to only infect pigs but is also able to infect humans. The level and symptoms of disease depends on the number of worms the individual is infected with, and intestinal blockage can happen because of the size of the worms.
T.cruzi is a protozoan parasite which causes a disease called Chagas disease. The disease is characterized by slow progression where the parasite infects various cells and organs in the body, including the heart, over many years, often with no or only mild symptoms present. Eventually the disease manifests itself through serious, and sometime fatal, cardiac or intestinal problems.
The infection is normally transmitted though contact with the feces of triatomine beetles ("kissing bugs"), which seek nightly human contact to feed on human blood. When it feeds, the beetle defecates on the host’s skin. Bug feces are often then scratched into the bite wound.T.cruzi is on the top ten list because it was recently discovered that humans can be infected by simply ingesting foods contaminated with bug feces — several outbreaks in recent years were caused by contaminated fruit and sugar cane juices — causing concern that it could become a global pathogen.
Helena receives funding from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for her research on immunity to intestinal nematode infections.
