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Shenzhen issues warning on liver fluke The municipal health bureau has urged people not to eat raw or partly cooked fish, shrimp or crab, to avoid oriental liver fluke. In a food hygiene warning published in the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily on Monday, the bureau said an estimated 5 million people in Guangdong were suffering from oriental liver fluke because of the unhealthy habit of eating raw freshwater fish and shrimp. In a survey of fish products in markets and at stores and restaurants in January, the bureau found liver fluke larvae in 10 kinds of the 16 fishery products tested. Tench, dace, carp, bullhead, rock fish, tilapia and African crucian topped the danger list with more than 19 percent of the specimens found to carry liver fluke larvae. The bureau also warned people not to feed pets with raw fish products. In 2004, of the 90 suspected cases of liver fluke, 31 were confirmed in Shenzhen. The parasite infests a number of animals, including dogs, cats, pigs and rodents, which serve as reservoirs for infestations. Humans are usually infested after swallowing the larvae from raw, dried, smoked or pickled freshwater fish. The larvae, which originate from a water snail, reach the fish via a complicated life cycle. The habitat of the fish is contaminated by the feces of human or dog carriers. Once ingested, the larvae migrate up the bile duct from the gut and mature into adult worms in the gall bladder over a four-week period. Eggs from the mature flukes pass out of the body in feces. Liver discomfort is the most common symptom, occasionally accompanied by bouts of fever, nausea, diarrhea — usually pale in color — and jaundice. Advanced cases may suffer permanent liver and pancreatic damage. The parasite causes thickening of the lining of the bile duct and an inflammatory response in the surrounding liver tissue. In heavy infestations, the bile duct epithelium can also be eroded, and the parasite’s eggs enter the liver tissue. Heavy infestations can also result in a narrowing or blockage of the bile duct. Since the parasites can live for years and the number of parasites tends to increase as a person ages, the damage to the liver and bile duct tends to accumulate over time and can eventually result in death. |
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