MEDICAL FAUX PAS #2: Sushi Worm versus Myiasis
I am quite that certain that everybody have received the email below. This is one story that creatively written based on two gruesome pictures of a man scalp infested in a way they call Brain Worm Parasite. Let us do some investigation about this. Below is the full excerpt of that viral email.
"This is a true case of a Japanese man from Gifu Prefecture who complains incessantly about a persistent headache. Mr. Shota Fujiwara loves his sashimi and sushi very much to the extent of trying to get them as "alive and fresh" as can be for his insatiable appetite.
He develops a severe headache for the past 3 years and has put it off as migraine and stress from work. It was only when he started losing his psychomotor skills that he seeks medical help. A brain scan and x-ray reveals little however. But upon closer inspection by a specialist on his scalp, the doctor noticed small movements beneath his skin. It was then that the doctor did a local anaesthetic to his scalp and discovered the cause when tiny worms crawled out. A major surgery was thus immediately called for and the extent of the infestation was horrific. See the attached pictures to the scene that one thought only a movie could produced:
Remember, tapeworms and roundworms and their eggs which abound in all fishes fresh or saltwater can only be killed by thorough cooking and/or freezing the fish to between 4 - 0 degree Celcius. The eggs of these parasites can only be killed if it is cooked or frozen to the said temperatures for a week or more. Think twice about that raw dish next time... or you might get a headache."
ANALYSIS:
Let us learn about Myasis a little bit.
Definition
Myiasis (pronounced /ˈmaɪəsɨs/ or /maɪˈaɪəsɨs/) is an animal or human disease caused by parasitic dipterous fly larvae feeding on the host's necrotic or living tissue. Colloquialisms for Myiasis include fly-strike and fly-blown.
I am quite that certain that everybody have received the email below. This is one story that creatively written based on two gruesome pictures of a man scalp infested in a way they call Brain Worm Parasite. Let us do some investigation about this. Below is the full excerpt of that viral email.
"This is a true case of a Japanese man from Gifu Prefecture who complains incessantly about a persistent headache. Mr. Shota Fujiwara loves his sashimi and sushi very much to the extent of trying to get them as "alive and fresh" as can be for his insatiable appetite.
He develops a severe headache for the past 3 years and has put it off as migraine and stress from work. It was only when he started losing his psychomotor skills that he seeks medical help. A brain scan and x-ray reveals little however. But upon closer inspection by a specialist on his scalp, the doctor noticed small movements beneath his skin. It was then that the doctor did a local anaesthetic to his scalp and discovered the cause when tiny worms crawled out. A major surgery was thus immediately called for and the extent of the infestation was horrific. See the attached pictures to the scene that one thought only a movie could produced:
Remember, tapeworms and roundworms and their eggs which abound in all fishes fresh or saltwater can only be killed by thorough cooking and/or freezing the fish to between 4 - 0 degree Celcius. The eggs of these parasites can only be killed if it is cooked or frozen to the said temperatures for a week or more. Think twice about that raw dish next time... or you might get a headache."
ANALYSIS:
Let us learn about Myasis a little bit.
Definition
Myiasis (pronounced /ˈmaɪəsɨs/ or /maɪˈaɪəsɨs/) is an animal or human disease caused by parasitic dipterous fly larvae feeding on the host's necrotic or living tissue. Colloquialisms for Myiasis include fly-strike and fly-blown.
Classifications
Two different classifications of myiasis can be adopted:
- The classical classification describes the myiasis by the infected area of the host. This is the classification used by ICD-10. For example: dermal, sub-dermal, cutaneous (B87.0), nasopharyngeal (B87.3), ocular (B87.2), intestinal/enteric (B87.8), or urogenital (B87.8).
- Another classification is based on the relationship between the host and the parasite and provides insight into the biology of the fly species causing the myiasis and its likely effect. Thus the myiasis is described as either obligatory or facultative or accidental.
The story featuring Mr. Fujiwara, the alleged sushi fanatic who contracted "brain worms" by eating raw fish, it is quite simply preposterous. Though there are precedents in the medical literature to support the claim that certain species of tapeworm or roundworm can infect the human digestive tract when ingested in raw or undercooked fish, I could find no indication that these particular parasites (in contrast, say, to the pork tapeworm, which is capable of causing a much wider and more serious array of symptoms) can migrate to other organs, such as the brain. In documented cases where pork tapeworm larvae have been found in the brain, they were embedded, cyst-like, in the neural tissue. They would not be capable of crawling around around freely, nor of boring outward through the patient's skull to emerge through the scalp.
Lastly, to set the record straight on one final medical matter, maggots can infest the human brain, evidently, and so can certain types of tapeworm larvae. But these conditions are fairly rare, and -- in spite of what you are likely to hear through the Internet grapevine -- they don't result from ignoring ingrown hairs or binging on sushi.
QUAERE VERUM (SEEK THE TRUTH)
WhiteLighter
anironundomiel85@gmail.co
Lastly, to set the record straight on one final medical matter, maggots can infest the human brain, evidently, and so can certain types of tapeworm larvae. But these conditions are fairly rare, and -- in spite of what you are likely to hear through the Internet grapevine -- they don't result from ignoring ingrown hairs or binging on sushi.
QUAERE VERUM (SEEK THE TRUTH)
WhiteLighter
anironundomiel85@gmail.co
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