Getting sick from eating raw or undercooked food.

Due to regularly eating raw vegetables, a 65-year-old female patient in Phu Tho province was simultaneously infected with five types of dangerous worms and parasites.

According to information from Phu Tho Provincial General Hospital, they recently admitted a patient infected with five types of dangerous worms and parasites simultaneously due to a habit of eating raw vegetables.

Specifically, according to the patient, they ate raw vegetables once every five days. For the past two months, the patient experienced fatigue, poor appetite, headaches, and a weight loss of 8 kg. The patient then went to Phu Tho Provincial General Hospital for examination.

At the Department of Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Medicine of the hospital, after clinical examinations and a chest CT scan revealed pneumonia, a complete blood count showed eosinophilia. Parasite tests revealed positive results for large liver fluke, canine tapeworm, threadworm, canine and feline roundworm, and schistosomiasis.

The patient was diagnosed with: Pneumonia – Eosinophilia – Multiple parasitic infections – Gastritis – Hepatitis. Treatment included antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, anthelmintics, and liver support.

After 8 days of treatment, the pneumonia improved, the patient's condition stabilized, and they were discharged. However, the patient must continue taking medication as prescribed by the doctor and schedule follow-up appointments for monitoring and treatment of parasitic worms.

According to Dr. Tran Van Son, from the Department of Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Medicine at Phu Tho Provincial General Hospital, if parasites enter the body and are not detected and treated promptly, they can cause dangerous complications.

These complications include acute cholangitis, liver abscess, cholecystitis, subcapsular hematoma, etc. Complications not only seriously affect health but can also threaten the patient's life.

According to Dr. Son, parasites can enter the body through many routes: consuming undercooked food, drinking untreated water, eating raw vegetables, or being bitten by insects such as mosquitoes and bedbugs…

Even contact with intermediate hosts that transmit the disease, such as dogs, cats, and birds, can lead to the risk of parasitic infection.

To minimize the risk of parasitic infections, Dr. Tran Van Son advises people to take the following measures: eat cooked food and drink boiled water; ensure food is thoroughly cooked and drinking water is boiled before consumption. Avoid eating and drinking at street vendors or stalls that do not meet hygiene standards.

Limit your consumption of raw salads, raw vegetables, undercooked fish, raw meat, or fermented meat of unknown origin. Absolutely do not consume spoiled food.

Wash your hands thoroughly after playing with pets or touching areas with a risk of infection. Ensure proper hygiene after using the toilet and do not use fresh manure to fertilize plants. Manure should be composted before use to ensure safety.

Maintain good personal hygiene, keep nails neatly trimmed, prevent children from developing the habit of sucking their fingers, and wash hands thoroughly before meals.

Maintain a clean living environment: Remove pet feces immediately to prevent the development of parasite eggs. Ensure the living environment is always clean and dry to avoid attracting insects. Deworm your pet every six months to prevent the risk of worm infestation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has consistently considered Vietnam an endemic area for the giant liver fluke. Epidemiological surveys also show that liver fluke disease is common in 20 provinces and cities in the North and 12 provinces and cities in the Central and Southern regions, with an estimated more than one million people infected. The giant liver fluke disease alone is found in 53 out of 63 provinces and cities, with approximately 10-15 thousand cases recorded annually in recent years.

According to Dr. Hoang Dinh Canh, Director of the Central Institute of Malaria, Parasitology, and Entomology, the habit of eating raw pork, raw beef, blood pudding, raw fish salad, and aquatic vegetables is the main cause of parasitic diseases. Most people only discover their condition when they have symptoms and seek medical attention.

According to statistics from Dang Van Ngu Hospital, Central Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology, in 2023, the unit received, examined, and treated 15,527 people infected with dog and cat roundworms. Many of them had previously been diagnosed with brain, liver, or lung tumors or cancers, but the exact cause was an abscess caused by larval roundworms.

Based on the above data, the leaders of the Institute of Malaria, Parasitology, and Entomology recommend that, to prevent parasitic infections and ensure food safety, people should eat cooked food and avoid eating raw or undercooked food; maintain hygiene in their surroundings; practice proper hand hygiene, washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet.

For pet owners, it's essential to deworm their pets and, especially, to properly manage their feces, as these are a source of roundworm eggs. If hygiene isn't maintained, pet owners can easily become infected with roundworm eggs.

In addition, according to health experts, there are many causes of canine tapeworm disease such as hugging or petting infected dogs, eating food containing tapeworm larvae or eggs, contact with soil where infected dogs defecate, etc.

Anyone can become infected with canine tapeworm larvae by eating food contaminated with canine tapeworm eggs or by having direct contact with infected dogs, foxes, or ferrets.

Therefore, experts note that people who have lived in endemic areas, consumed foods at risk of Echinococcus larval contamination, and experience suspicious symptoms such as mild fever, fatigue, poor appetite, jaundice, itching, chest pain, shortness of breath, persistent cough, and sometimes coughing up blood should seek immediate medical attention for early diagnosis and timely treatment.