This month’s edition of The Neews, our monthly feature of food stories that put the eew in news is about a man in China whose love of raw foods nearly killed him. X-rays show that the body of the man, from Guangdong Province, was riddled with tapeworm courtesy of his steady intake of raw meat.
You can get a tapeworm infection from eating any kind of raw or undercooked fish, pork or beef. Infections associated with salmon have been mirroring the growth in popularity of sushi, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fish tapeworms, Diphyllobothrium latum, are the largest variety capable of reaching 30 feet in length. The worms can remain in the intestine or the larvae can penetrate the intestinal wall and travel to tissue throughout the body, as was the case for the man in China.
Symptoms of a fish tapeworm infection include abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and passing segments of the worm. Treatment with medication is needed to kill the worms. Anyone with concerns should see a doctor. The best way to minimize risk of fish tapeworm infection is to eat fish that has been cooked to an internal temperature of 145˚F.
