Sushi: The Culprit of the Urban Tapeworm Problem?

Posted by Alex in Food & Drinks, Medicine on June 14, 2009 at 1:32 pm

Before you eat that oh-so-delicious piece of salmon sashimi, consider this: sushi (as well as undercooked fish) may be contributing to the growing problem of urban tapeworm …

Once the bane of rural Japanese villagers, a paper in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on the spread of the the salmon tapeworm Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense. The parasite, which can reach lengths of 39 feet (12 meters), has been steadily increasing its global distribution and prevalence – mostly among yuppies with a hankering for sashimi and ceviche.

One hospital in Japan reported 14 cases last year, up from 3 cases in 2000. And starting in 2006, the tapeworm has been popping up for the first time in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, farm-raised salmon from South America have been plagued by a closely related tapeworm that normally infects perch and other freshwater fish.

Link

 
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The Worm Within

Posted by Miss Cellania in Medicine on April 28, 2009 at 8:56 am

This 2004 short story by Vincent Eaton tells of his experience with a tapeworm. This is not for hypochondriacs or those disturbed by bathroom scenes. Guaranteed to make you cook your meat just a little longer.

I headed directly to the pharmacist, purchased the pill, took it home, created an altar, placed it there and worshipped it for forty-five minutes as the answer to all my dreams and prayers. “Oh mighty pill, death to the demon residing within…”

Next morning I popped out of bed, got myself a glass of water, removed the pill from its altar cushion, placed it on my tongue, closed my eyes, and swallowed, declaring, “Take that, monster of the deep! You neverending strand of unspooling spaghetti!” I smacked my lips and thought that was that.

It wasn’t.

The story concludes with an invitation to share your stories of parasites. There are dozens of pages of contributions. Link -via reddit

(image credit: Chris Bishop)

 
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Chance of Getting a Tapeworm

Posted by Miss Cellania in Animal on March 2, 2009 at 11:12 am

Just thinking about a tapeworm gives me the shivers. What are your chances of getting a tapeworm? Take the quiz! The questions will make it rather obvious what the risk factors are. Link -via the Presurfer

 
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I, For One, Welcome Our New Tapeworm Overlord

Posted by Alex in Animal, Pictures, Science & Tech on February 15, 2009 at 1:40 pm


Electron micrograph: Claire J. Healy

That’s Rhinebothrium sp., a species of tapeworm that parasitize stingrays. It was recently discovered by Claire J. Healy of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and her colleagues.

Attention hypochondriacs: the next time you suffer from abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and malnutrition, it may just be one of this fellow’s human-infecting cousins living in your intestines. They can grow up to 30 feet long, y’know.

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