How a young woman's dream holiday to Thailand turned into a health nightmare that stumped doctors for seven years - as she issues a warning every tourist needs to hear

[Screaming]

A dream family holiday to Thailand has turned into an ongoing nightmare for a young woman who has spent the last seven years at the mercy of a rare parasite. 

Nursing student Tess Swift, then 20, returned home from the holiday in 2015 with a slight stomach illness that saw her rushed to hospital a few weeks later.

Since then, Ms Swift has been in and out of hospital as doctors tried to work out what was wrong before she finally got the answers she needed two months ago.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11634885/Rare-parasite-turns-womans-Thailand-holiday-ongoing-parasitic-nightmare.html

Edited January 15, 2023 by metisdead
Edited as per fair use policy.

[internationalism]

only less than 50 known cases  yearly in the world (asia, s america, africa), so she was extremely unlucky.

Strange, that her diagnosis took 7 years.

If her symptoms started in thailand, while still on holiday, she had a better chance of proper treatment, doctors are here are more familiar with this parasite.

There are 2 medicines for a roundworm, which causes that illness, readily available in thai pharmacies (albendazole and ivermectin). The best is to take both those madicines at the same time, as they work synergistically.  

[OneMoreFarang]

It seems the Daily Mail found a country which is even worse than England. That must make them feel good. ???? 

[Don Chance]

" Gnathostoma, that infect humans primarily by eating undercooked or raw freshwater fish, eels, frogs, birds, and reptiles."

 

Another reason to cook your own food in Thailand.

[internationalism]

12 minutes ago, Don Chance said:

" Gnathostoma, that infect humans primarily by eating undercooked or raw freshwater fish, eels, frogs, birds, and reptiles."

 

Another reason to cook your own food in Thailand.

eating is one way of infection.

Swimming in freshwater and accidently swallowing water is another way. Even eating vegetable salad made with unwashed ingreedients. There are many thai vegetables grown on ponds

[Don Chance]

17 minutes ago, internationalism said:

eating is one way of infection.

Swimming in freshwater and accidently swallowing water is another way. Even eating vegetable salad made with unwashed ingreedients. There are many thai vegetables grown on ponds

Life cycle in definitive hosts

Adult worms are found in a tumor located in the gastric wall of the definitive hosts and release eggs into the host's digestive tract. The eggs are then released with feces and in about a week hatch in water to develop into first stage larva.^[16] Larvae are then ingested by minute copepods of the genus Cyclops.^[17] Once entering the copepod, the larvae penetrate the gastric wall of their intermediate host and begin to develop into second-stage and even early third-stage larvae.^[16] The copepods are then ingested by a second intermediate host such as fish, frogs, or snakes.^[3] Within this second intermediate or definitive host the larva repeat a similar pattern of penetrating the gastric wall, but then continue to migrate to muscular tissue and develop into advanced third-stage larvae.^[16] These larvae then encyst within the musculature of the new host.^[18] If the cyst containing flesh of these hosts is ingested by a definitive host, such as dogs, and cats, the cysts are ingested and the larvae escape the cysts and penetrate the gastric wall.^[16] These released larvae travel to the connective tissue and muscle as observed before and after 4 weeks they return to the gastric wall as adults.^[16] Here they form a tumor and continue to mature into adults for the next 6–8 months.^[3] Worms mate and females begin to excrete fertilized eggs with feces 8–12 months after ingestion of cysts.^[14] They are passed out in the feces and eaten by another fish.^{[citation needed]}

Life cycle in humans

Infection of humans by gnathostomiasis is accidental because humans are not one of the definitive hosts of the parasite and do not allow the parasite to complete its life cycle. Infection in humans follows ingestion of raw or insufficiently cooked infected intermediate hosts.^[14]The ingested third stage larva migrates from the gastric wall and its migration results in the symptoms associated with infection by gnathostomiasis.^[3] The third stage larvae don't return to the gastric wall preventing it from maturing into adult worms, leaving the life cycle incomplete. Instead the larvae continue to migrate unpredictably unable to develop into adults, so eggs are seldom found in diagnostic tests.^[1] This also means the number of worms present in humans is a reflection of the number of third stage larvae ingested.

 

 

 

"it was not until 1889 that the first human case was described by Levinson when he found the Gnathostoma larva in an infested Thai woman. The lifecycle of G. spinigerum was described by Svasti Daengsvang and Chalerm Prommas from Thailand in 1933 and 1936.^[24] This delay in identification of the parasite in humans is due to the fact that humans are not a definitive host for this parasite making infection from this parasite rare. Gnathostomiasis infection is rare because the parasite must be digested when it has reached its third larvae stage, providing only a short time frame in which the parasite is capable of infecting humans. It is uncommon for the larvae to penetrate the skin of individuals exposed to contaminated food or water without ingestion."

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

That's it then!

 

Not going.

[Caldera]

This case says a lot more about the inadequacies of the NHS than about the dangers of holidaying in Thailand.

 

I do get that it's a very rare parasite, but there's no excuse for taking 7 years to diagnose it. Bumbling fools.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, Caldera said:

This case says a lot more about the inadequacies of the NHS than about the dangers of holidaying in Thailand

Thought she was Australian. 

[Mickeymaus]

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

" Gnathostoma, that infect humans primarily by eating undercooked or raw freshwater fish, eels, frogs, birds, and reptiles."

 

Another reason to cook your own food in Thailand.

Yes. But here they eat raw beef and pork. 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9397203/Thai-man-excretes-59-FOOT-tapeworm-doctors-visit-extreme-flatulence.html

[ThailandRyan]

21 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

 

 

Qui Bono?

 

The Nobel Prize winning drug.

 

But it didn't fit with the Empire narrative and would have hurt vaccine sales if it is indeed a cure, so the corporate press in unison chortled "Joe Rogan took horse medicine".

 

Why don't they call Penicillin "fish medicine"?

https://www.verywellhealth.com/largest-ivermectin-study-no-covid-benefit-5224499

[Lorry]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

But it has about the same risk as aspirin, so why not let people take it if it makes then feel better? 

Because it gives them a false feeling of safety. 

Many times I have heard "I am on Ivermectin, I don't need vaccine".

[metisdead]

Off topic trolling posts and replies about Covid have been removed. 

[TravelWhileAble]

That's so unfortunate and sad.