It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like sushi these days. Sushi night with the girls, or on a date, has become a staple of culture. But be careful where you eat. Food poisoning is bad. A worm in your tonsil is worse.
The Tonsil Roundworm
In Tokyo, Japan, a 25-year-old woman came into the St. Luke’s International Hospital with throat pain and irritation. Although her blood tests were clear, a physical examination of the patient revealed something horrible. Disgustingly, in the woman’s tonsil, was a black worm. After the hospital staff removed the worm, with tweezers, it turned out to be 1.5 inches (38mms) long. The medical journal, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, published an article about this case in the July 8th, 2020 issue. According to the journal, once the worm was extracted, the patient felt a lot better. Frankly, if a worm had been pulled out of me, I don’t know how good I would feel. (1, 2)
The Sashimi Culprit
The woman told doctors that five days before her hospital visit, she’d consumed some assorted sashimi. The sashimi was the most likely culprit. “DNA PCR and the fact that the worm was in exuviation revealed,” according to the journal, that “this worm was a fourth-stage larva of Pseudoterranova azarasi.”
What does that mean? Well, “Pseudoterranova is an uncommon nematode of the family Anisakidae. Anisakis simplex, a major type of the family, is a white roundworm causing gastric, intestinal, ectopic, and allergic diseases.” These parasites usually infect raw fish, or fish that has not properly been cooked. (1)
Am I In Danger Of Roundworm?
That’s tough to say. There have been 700 cases of Pseudoterranova, and those have only shown up in the Netherlands, South American and North Pacific countries, and Japan. However, Anisakiasis, the related parasite, is on the upswing in Western countries. In Portugal, a 32-year-old man came to the ER after a week of stomach pain and vomiting. His white blood cell count was up, signaling an infection. However, it wasn’t an infection–at least not a conventional one. His stomach was also tender, so the doctors performed an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The procedure is not a surgery. Instead, doctors insert a tube, with an attached light and camera, into the gastrointestinal tract. Unfortunately–or fortunately, depending on how you look at it–they found something stuck in there. A parasite had latched so firmly onto the wall of the intestine that it pierced right through into the stomach. (1, 3)
More Roundworm Information
Dr. Joana Carmo was one of the doctors who treated the man, and eventually wrote an article on the case. She says that “in European countries, fish infestation is probably more frequent than we thought. One study showed,” according to her, “that anisakis simplex (the species most commonly associated with human infections) was found in 39.4% of the fresh mackerel examined from different fish markets in Granada, Spain.”
According to CDC spokesperson, Amy Rowland, “rare cases have been identified in the US.” The CDC website warns that “some people experience a tingling sensation after or while eating raw or undercooked fish or squid. This is actually the worm moving in the mouth or throat.” (3)
