Paragonimiasis & Crustacean

The message that I have sent across with the Dangerous Lobster Dish post have been quite unclear and weak, as there is no support which states that those mini lobsters are indeed scientifically dangerous to human health. Therefore, I have been surfing around trying to dig some facts about it. I have googled for informations regarding Crustaceans and also Paragonimiasis,which is a kind of infection linked to Crustaceans.

According to Wikipedia, crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods and are usually treated as a subphylum. They include various familiar animals, such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp, crayfish and barnacles. The majority of them are aquatic, living in either fresh water or marine environments, but a few groups have adapted to terrestrial life.

So, it's clear that these yummy seafood (such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimps) which we love to consume are grouped as Crustaceans. According to the recently forwarded e-mail about the treats of the mini lobster dish, it is mentioned that this particular small crustacean should not be consumed by humans because they are toxic to our body. They contain some kind of substance which can infect our lungs and cause death.

After some googling, I have stumbled upon some facts about Paragonimiasis which is mentioned in the forwarded-mail. Paragonimiasis is a food-borne parasitic infection caused by the lung fluke, which is most commonly known as Paragonimus westermani. It is mainly caused by ingestion of raw and undercooked freshwater crabs or crayfishes (Crustaceans).

It is stated in Wikipedia that the infection of P. westermani is a serious disease. Symptoms of lung fluke infection can include cough, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and hives. The parasite can migrate to other organs, and infection can last for years. Miracidium which hatches from Paragonimus eggs in fresh water infects crustaceans, where they form cysts in gills and muscles. When consumed, the parasite penetrates through the gut wall, migrates through the abdominal cavity and passes the diaphragm, where it develops into adult worms. The classical symptoms of a fully developed infection is bloody sputum in which Paragonimus eggs can be demonstrated, and Paragonimus is, therefore, an important differential diagnosis to tuberculosis. In the migratory phase, elevated eosinophils and IgE are common. Diagnosis can be aided by detection of specific antibodies.

It is specifically mentioned that this infection is very common in the East Asia. An estimated 80% of Crustaceans in Asia carry P. westermani. A crab species, Eriocheir which is said to be an important food in Japan and Korea is known as a second intermediate host of the parasite. However, the usual food sterilization methods with pickles and salts used in most Asean kitchens do not kill these infective organism! In China, there are many well-known dishes cooked with rice-wine. Drunken Crab is one of the very famous dish among the Chinese. However, it is said that this dish is especially risky in causing Paragominiasis. An experiment was done to verify the safety level of Crustacean dishes infected with parasites. The crabs which were immersed in wine containing 47% alcohol for about 3 to 5 minutes were fed to cats and dogs. These animals had a 100% infection rate, which states that even 47% can do no harm to these parasites.

However, there can also be accidental transfer of these parasites to other unrelated dishes. These parasites can move around and get transferred to cooking utensils and still be alive. They will then get transferred to other dishes during the cooking process. Besides that, when people consume animals that feed on crustaceans (e.g. boar), there is a high chance that they will be infected as well. This is due to a point which I would like to emphasize again. They survive in raw and undercooked crustacean dishes which means they would probably still be alive when they are stuck on other raw and undercooked dishes!

Therefore, try to avoid raw and undercooked dishes! All of them! Because there are chances that these parasite get transmitted to other dishes besides residing on Crustaceans.

Allergy can also be a reason which crustacean dishes affect the health of some people. It is said that crustaceans are the most common food that allergic people are sensitive to. Therefore, check with the doctor to see if your body reacts negatively after consuming crustacean dishes.

So it has been concluded that Paragonimiasis are caused by consumption of raw and undercooked crustacean dishes most of the time, not just these mini lobsters.

However, there is a cure for paragonimiasis if actions are taken in early stage. The treatment of choice is praziquantel.

For more detailed information and pictures, please refer to these websites and references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crustacean
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragonimiasis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_fluke
http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2001/paragonimiasis/Paragonimiasis_Home.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06271/725522-34.stm
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/401_food.html

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