Risk of helminth infection from 6 common dishes

The larvae of helminths can be transmitted to humans through ingestion of raw, unsanitary foods, containing eggs or cysts carrying larvae. Others can enter the human body through skin contact.

Doctor, Dr. Vu Truong Khanh (Head of Gastroenterology Department, Tam Anh General Hospital in Hanoi) said that when infected with helminths, patients often have abdominal pain, digestive disorders, weight loss, fatigue, itchy skin. The disease progresses silently, many cases are accidentally discovered when going to a health care provider to perform tests and scans. If not promptly detected and treated, helminth infections can cause many dangerous complications such as intestinal or bile duct obstruction, gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia, cholangitis, hemoptysis, liver abscess, encephalitis, meningitis, etc. After recovering, the patient can still be reinfected if not eating hygienically and periodically deworming.

Here are some foods with potential for helminth infections that people should be careful when using as suggested by Dr. Khanh.

Seafood salad

Seafood salads such as fish salad, sushi, sashimi, shrimp salad... are loved by many people. Seafood that lives in the sea is less susceptible to bacteria and parasites. However, seafood raised in brackish water, estuary areas, and discharged into the sea, such as shrimp and fish, are susceptible to parasites. In particular, snails can contain thousands of tubeworm parasites due to their habit of living deep in the mud.

If these dishes are not prepared hygienically, not thoroughly cooked, the risk of helminth infection is very high. Manual processing and improper preservation of food also make seafood at high risk of being infected with helminth larvae. After entering the body, the parasite damages the liver and gallbladder, causing headaches, nausea, and diarrhea.

Pudding

Blood pudding is made from raw blood, without heat treatment, bacteria and parasites are not destroyed. Therefore, eating blood pudding has a high risk of helminth infection and gastrointestinal diseases, especially the blood of infected pigs, ducks, goats.

According to Dr. Khanh, many cases of people who ate blood pudding were infected with flukes. They migrate to the brain, nest in the brain, causing meningitis or worm nests in the brain, causing patients to have severe headaches, convulsions that are easily mistaken for strokes or strokes. In this case, if not treated promptly, the patient may have hemiplegia and many accompanying sequelae such as vision loss, epilepsy, etc.

Rarely cooked meat

Habit of eating goats, buffaloes, cows, pigs, etc., when ripe, can bring worms and flukes into the body. The quality of the meat is not guaranteed, the processing is not clean, and the undercooked will not remove harmful parasites. After entering the body, the larvae of the fluke will escape the cyst and adhere to the small intestine, penetrate through the intestinal wall and travel throughout the body. Animal meats should be thoroughly cooked before use to ensure they do not infect helminths.

Meat, fish silage

Fermented meat and fish dishes such as spring rolls, sour meat, and pickled fish are not cooked but use the leavening of leaves (guava leaves, fig leaves, clove leaves), rice ear and some spices to cook. If these foods are not fermented with enough acidity, the eggs and larvae of helminths in these foods are not destroyed. People who eat these dishes can become infected with parasites. In addition, manual processing and improper preservation of food also make meat and fish at high risk of being infected with helminth larvae.

Raw vegetables, aquatic vegetables

Vegetables and fruits grown in the ground or under water are at high risk of parasitic infection. These foods if irrigated with dirty water, fertilized with fresh fertilizers or planted in a dirty soil environment containing helminth eggs. People who regularly drink fresh vegetable juices, eat raw or dipped vegetables have a high risk of helminth infection and other digestive diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, poisoning.

Dr. Khanh added that parasites other than bacteria and viruses, their eggs or larvae that stick to the surface of vegetables can be washed away when flushed directly under clean running water. To avoid helminth infections, people should limit eating raw vegetables or raw vegetables must be thoroughly washed under clean running water (smells, lettuce, centella asiatica, collard greens...), aquatic vegetables (watercress, celery, lotus root, spinach, water spinach, coriander) should be cooked thoroughly. Vegetables and fruits before being processed into food need to be washed many times and soaked in salt water.

Animal organs

The larvae of helminths, when entering the animal's body, often parasitize the internal organs, while this part is very difficult to clean. If consumed, the possibility of helminth infection is high.

Many people have a habit of drinking alcohol after using raw, undercooked food to "kill" parasites. However, according to Dr. Khanh, the alcohol concentration in alcohol when entering the stomach will be diluted so it has no effect. Parasites can survive in the acidic environment of the stomach, so adding sour and spicy spices can't kill them. However, the parasites can die when heated to about 60-70 degrees Celsius. The only way to completely kill them is to cook food and drink at high temperatures. Depending on the type of food, the processing time varies.

To avoid cross-contamination, everyone should make sure to disinfect kitchen utensils after each use; avoid mixing raw and cooked foods; wear protective gloves when handling raw food; Wash hands with soap before and after cooking.

Trinh Mai