NewsDesk @bactiman63

Cases of parasitic diseases have been recorded in Bashkiria, according to reports from the Rospotrebnadzor of the Republic of Belarus.

Image/CDC

Opisthorchiasis and diphyllobothriasis have been registered in the region. The first of these diseases is caused by opisthorchis – small parasites 6-13 mm long. The disease affects the liver, biliary tract and pancreas. Human infection occurs when eating non-disinfected fish of the carp family (ide, dace, roach, bream, and others).

From 12 to 35 cases of opisthorchiasis are registered annually in the republic. So, in 2021, 12 people fell ill, the incidence rate was 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. For 9 months of 2022, 21 people became infected (0.52 cases per 100 thousand people), which exceeded the long-term average by 1.2 times.

In the Russian Federation, the main foci of this helminthiasis are the Ob-Irtysh basin (infection of the population up to 90%), the Volga and Kama basins (up to 60%). However, infection through fish caught in other regions is not excluded.

Diphyllobothriasis is a helminthiasis that occurs with signs of a predominant lesion of the gastrointestinal tract and is often accompanied by the development of anemia. The main sources of infection are fish that live in freshwater reservoirs (pike, perch, and so on), as well as marine fish that are found in freshwater rivers (pink salmon, chum salmon, Pacific salmon, and others).

In Bashkiria, isolated cases of diphyllobothriasis are recorded. For 9 months of this year, 3 patients were recorded, the incidence rate was 0.07 per 100 thousand inhabitants, which is at the level of the same period last year and exceeds the long-term average by 16%.

“Infection with these parasitosis occurred when eating fish without sufficient heat treatment, purchased in the markets from individuals, when leaving for the endemic regions of the North, brought from endemic territories,” the department noted.

Diseases such as clonorchiasis and anisakiasis have not been registered.

Experts noted that opisthorchiasis, diphyllobothriasis and other biohelminthiases greatly harm the health of the population, the course of the disease is often accompanied by a chronic process and irreversible complications leading to disability. In some cases, the disease ends in death.

The agency urges not to eat raw and non-disinfected fish, to use separate cutting boards and knives, to treat them and hands well after cutting fish, to follow the rules of heat treatment, freezing and salting of fish. When the first signs of the disease appear, you should consult a doctor.