After all the headlines that came across my desk the past week or more concerning a “Japanese broad tapeworm” case in California in a daily raw sushi eater, I figured that would be the end of it, but it’s not.
And that’s ok, that while these stories are often sensationalized, as someone who loves the study of parasitology, I always find them interesting.
Today, the Star Online is outdoing the US story with a more than 9 foot tapeworm report, albeit from 2016. It is an effort to reach out to the public concerning the potential risks of eating uncooked or undercooked seafood.
The 2.8 meter fish tapeworm was pulled out of a patient in Singapore. It is worth checking out just for the picture of this huge cestode which had to be folded 18 times to fit in the picture.
LISTEN: Raw sushi’s microbial risks: The worms and germs
Here at Outbreak News Today, we’ve spotlighted several “large” or unusual parasites stories in recent years, for example–Taiwan: 8-ft tapeworm removed from young girl, Parasites: 6-ft pork tapeworm removed through man’s mouth, Chinese man with ‘beef tapeworm’ makes headlines: What is Taenia saginata? and Chinese man’s body peppered with parasites, is it Diphyllobothriasis?
And I’m sure we will be covering many more–because it is fascinating to say the least.
More interviews and articles on tapeworms:
- Taenia saginata: The beef tapeworm
- Coyote tapeworm in Alberta: 5th human case reported
- Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Fish Tapeworms
- The dwarf tapeworm, Hymenolepis nana, cancer cells linked to human tumors: CDC
- Spirometra tapeworm found in UK man’s head after 4 years
- A Tapeworm in the Brain – What is Cysticercosis?
Now is the perfect time to view whales, dolphins, manta rays in Los Cabos!
Very informative