We all enjoy a sushi dinner every now and again. The Sashimi, spicy tuna roll,or salmon skin Yummy Yummy roll. One mans love of the delicacy left his entire body filled with parasitic tape worms. The Chinese man had gone to the doctor with complains that he was having stomach pains, and that his skin was itchy. Upon a full body scan it was revealed,much to his horror, that his whole entire body had become infected.
All fish contain a worm called Diphyllobothrium, it is a type of worm that can cause a disease known as Diphyllobothriasis upon consumption of raw or undercooked fish. The symptoms if they occur include abdominal discomfort or pain, Diarrhea, weakness, and weight loss. Yes, it can be fatal if the worms were to reach the brain. Once a human becomes infected, a tape worm will grow, and can survive for several years, while going undetected for several weeks or months.
Many researches show that eating raw or under cooked fish can lead to a variety off parasitic infections, and some even show that eating cooked fish can cause a reaction within the body.
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.
Rest assured there is treatment: The standard treatment for diphyllobothriasis, as well as many other tapeworm infections is a single dose of Praziquantel, 5–10 mg/kg PO once for both adults and children. An alternative treatment is Niclosamide, 2 g PO once for adults or 50 mg/kg PO once.One should note that Praziquantel is not FDA approved for this sign and Niclosamide is not available for human use in the United States. Another interesting potential diagnostic tool and treatment is the contrast medium, Gastrografin, introduced into the duodenum, which allows both visualization of the parasite, and has also been shown to cause detachment and passing of the worm.
Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/GlobalHealth/story?id=7847413, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001375.htm, http://collier.ifas.ufl.edu/SeaGrant/pubs/Fact%20Sheet%20on%20worms%20in%20fish.docx%5B1%5D.pdf