Why would someone eat raw fish?

[shidokanartist]

Actually the incidence of stomach cancer is for some reason statistically higher than other countries.

[Britt/Scot]

Worm Dangers From Sushi


NEW YORK, Jul 21 (Reuters) -- Tiny parasites in sushi can trigger a serious gastrointestinal illness called anisakidosis, researchers warn.

"Reported cases are increasing and are suspected to be just the proverbial tip of the iceberg," say a team of investigators at Yokohama City University School of Medicine in Yokohama, Japan. Their report appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

They describe the case of a 60-year-old habitual sushi eater, admitted to a Japanese hospital after having slipped into a coma. Close examination revealed what the authors call a "strangulating obstruction" in her small bowel. The woman required immediate surgery, including bowel resection. She eventually regained consciousness, and progressed to complete recovery.

The experts diagnosed her condition as anisakidosis, a condition caused by the ingestion of the larval form of a nematode of the anisaki species. They explain that the worm's natural home lies in the intestinal systems of marine mammals (such as dolphins), but it can also live in commercially-harvested fish including mackerel, tuna, or cod.

Normally, cooking kills the organism. However, sushi consumption can bring the live anisaki worm into direct contact with the digestive tract, where it can trigger severe illness. The authors report that "recently, anisakidosis has begun to be regarded as a public health problem in Japan, with more than 2,000 cases reported by physicians every year."

In the rarest and most life-threatening cases of anisakidosis, the body's immune response attempts to isolate and surround the worm with a mass of white blood cells, forming a mass called a granuloma. In the case of the 60-year-old woman, a bowel granuloma became so large that it blocked her bowel.

Heating (above 60 degrees Celsius for 1 minute) or freezing (to -20 degrees Celsius for 24 hours) all sushi prior to consumption should help destroy the anisaki worm. The authors point out that "in Holland, where this treatment is carried out compulsorily, the disease has been virtually eradicated."

However, safety precautions like these may not be popular among sushi purists, since either can alter the taste of raw fish. The researchers therefore recommend that sushi lovers who insist on taking their chances with the delicacy should have their fish "prepared fresh, (with) the viscera... removed as soon as possible." All chopping boards should be thoroughly washed after being used in the preparation of raw fish, and cooks should look closely at fish for evidence of the worm, which "can be seen by the unaided eye."

The authors also urge that sushi lovers "avoid raw mackerel or cod from sea locations where many marine mammals live." This advice could be difficult to follow, however, since marine mammal populations seem to be on the increase in American and Japanese coastal waters.

The researchers also warn that vinegar, such as that used to prepare some forms of mackerel sushi, "cannot remove or inactivate the nematode, which can survive in the vinegar for up to 51 days."

SOURCE: American Journal of Gastroenterology 1998;93:1172-1173

[Britt/Scot]

Sushi Danger
Updated: 10:55 AM Jun 1, 2006
Betty Sexton


If you eat a lot of sushi beware. In rare cases raw fish can make you sick with parasites invading your body. A Colorado Springs woman learned that the hard way.

Tonight in a special call for action alert, Betty Sexton uncovers the dangers ad tells you what restaurants are doing to protect you. A word of warning some of the video may be graphic.

A Colorado Springs woman prides herself on eating healthy so the last thing she expected was to hear she was infested with parasites.

She ate a lot of sushi specifically raw salmon , until she learned fish tapeworms were living in her small intestine.

She wants to keep her identity secret because she doesn't want her children to know what happened. This woman we'll call sue says once those sharp pains went away she experienced bouts of nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, and bloating for months.

She even had those fluttering feelings that women get when they're pregnant.

Then she passed a four foot long tapeworm in her stool and went to see her doctor.

Dr. Phyllis Clark an internal medicine specialist sent off part of the specimen to the lab which came back positive for fish tapeworm, specifically undercooked or raw salmon.

Sue says she's now back to normal. Still, she's staying away from raw food of any kind. She's not sure where she picked up the parasite, but knows it was not a sushi restaurant here in Colorado Springs.

Local restaurant owners didn't want to talk on camera, but say they understand the dangers and take precautions above and beyond what's required by state and federal government.

They tell me they only buy the highest grade of salmon examining the whole fish before accepting it, then cutting it up, and freezing it for days to make sure it's safe.

We learned contracting fish tapeworm is very rare. In fact, the centers for disease control told me their last documented case was 25 years ago when four doctors got it from eating raw salmon in sushi.

Dr. Clark says the best advice, be careful when eating raw salmon and raw squid. Both can be loaded with parasites which are only killed when the fish is fully cooked or completely frozen.

She recommends only eating sushi in places with proper refrigeration and freezing, staying away from sushi sold on the streets in carts or in third world countries with less stringent laws.

She wants people to eat fish because it's healthy, but fish tapeworm left untreated can cause months and months of prolonged illness.


see I told you about sushi

[flashNsmash]

I love sushi, well, sashimi more specifically. Delicious. I hopped on that bandwagon at an early age.

[8404Vet]

one bite for me, one for my tapeworm. One bite for me, one bite for my tapeworm.

[ZEPER]

I love sashimi with lots of wasabi!!

[Tensei]

I remember seeing a pic years ago on the net where they cut some sushi eater's head open and the brain was just bursting with parasitic worms. Nonetheless I love sushi. Alcoholism will likely kill me way before any sushi parasites.

[Das Uberdog]

Originally Posted by Symbiose

Is there any food more disgusting than sushis? I can't believe that it's now "cool" and expensive to eat that shit. I can't stand cooked fish, let alone raw.

Sushis should be banned from America and anyone caught eating that should be deported to some country in Asia where it's ok to eat dog, rats and raw fish.

you sound like one of those fat kids who only eats Doritoes and other garbage like that.

[MEGGAKRON]

Originally Posted by Symbiose

Is there any food more disgusting than sushis? I can't believe that it's now "cool" and expensive to eat that shit. I can't stand cooked fish, let alone raw.

Sushis should be banned from America and anyone caught eating that should be deported to some country in Asia where it's ok to eat dog, rats and raw fish.

you don't like fish, we get it. did you need to make a thread about it. send it to mayberry queerboy.


sushi rocks btw

[mahalo]

Originally Posted by Symbiose

Is there any food more disgusting than sushis? I can't believe that it's now "cool" and expensive to eat that shit. I can't stand cooked fish, let alone raw.

Sushis should be banned from America and anyone caught eating that should be deported to some country in Asia where it's ok to eat dog, rats and raw fish.

go back to des moines