(Editor’s Note: If you have a sensitive stomach, read along at your own risk. While this is knowledge you should have if you eat raw or undercooked fish, it might be too much for you!)
One of the most gruesome parasites known is the tapeworm, a species of digestive tract-invading parasites that includes Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense (or the Japanese broad tapeworm). While this worm was thought to infect only fish in Asia, a study published last week in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, reports that wild salmon caught in Alaska has also been infected by this parasite.
(We don’t always trust the CDC, but this study appears to be spot on.)
From the article:
“In July 2013, a team of scientists examined 64 wild Alaskan salmon. After filleting the musculature into narrow slices, the scientists observed these and the internal organs of each fish under a magnifying glass.
They discovered larvae, between 8 and 15 millimeters long, that continually elongated and contracted (as worms are known to do). With gene sequencing, they were identified as Japanese tapeworms.
Based on the study results, four species of Pacific salmon are known to carry Japanese tapeworm infections: chum salmon, masu salmon, pink salmon and sockeye salmon. Because these salmon are exported on ice — unfrozen — and then appear in restaurants around the world, infections caused by the Japanese tapeworm may occur anywhere, from China to Europe, from New Zealand to Ohio.”
Yum. (These are the moments I’m so thankful I never have to worry about this being a vegan!)
You may not have symptoms
D. latum and its related species, like its Japanese relative, can grow up to 30 feet long.
And, for those who experience symptoms, because not everyone will, they will likely feel a bit of abdominal discomfort, nausea or loose stools, and perhaps lose a little weight.
Normally, tapeworms cause only minor symptoms, but in rare cases, the infection can turn into a serious medical problem. Roman Kuchta, the lead author of the study and a research scientist at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, said:
“Massive infections may result in intestinal obstruction and painful inflammation of the bile ducts. The infections can have a substantial emotional impact on patients and their families, because segments are evacuated over a long period of time. More severe cases may require specialized consultations and complementary analyses, which are costly.”
Thankfully, if you discover that you’re infected tapeworms can be identified and treated quite effectively; the medications used are not typical antibiotics but specialized drugs targeting specific types of parasites.
Eat away: cooked or frozen
If you don’t want to avoid fish and want to be safe, make sure to eat fish previously frozen or cooked fish (145 Fahrenheit/62 celsius for four or five minutes will destroy the tapeworm).
Source: CNN
