Traditional salad may be fatal

CHIANG MAI: -- The consumption of a traditional and highly popular spicy meat salad may cause sudden deafness and even death, a leading ear, nose and throat specialist warned yesterday.

According to Dr. Charan Kangsanarak from Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine, people who eat the salad known as 'laab', which often contains raw meat, could be putting themselves at severe risk.

Figures from the university's Ear, Nose and Throat Department show that all recorded cases of sudden deafness last year were from people who had consumed 'laab' made from raw pork.

The bacteria which causes the condition can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected pigs, including the consumption of contaminated meat.

Early symptoms include headaches, dry throat, fever, lack of balance and sudden deafness.

In some cases the bacteria enters the bloodstream and can be fatal.

Warning against the consumption of 'laab made from raw pork, Dr. Charan said that it was particularly important that the salad was not consumed simultaneously with alcohol, as the alcohol served to erode the body's natural immune system.

--TNA 2005-04-07

Why do people insist on eating raw meat? What was the point of useing fire all this time, if some dill brained dip is gonna go eat raw pork?

Some time ago i attended a sort of memorial service for a friends father who had died a few years earlier........no not from eating raw pork......anyway it was near Pai and a very local affair. All the men (typically) sat in the shade and drank copious amounts of whiskey while the women gathered under a big stinking hot tent to prepare food.

I remember standing watching these women merrily mixing raw pig meat with the raw blood and lots of herbs etc. Unfortunately we were invited to stay and drink and eat same as everyone.......and yes out came the raw laab !! It was great stuff with some sticky rice and a cup of lao khao !! But all I could think of after that was those bad stories of parasites and worms and so on......nightmares of the 'Aliens' type invaded my sleep for days afterwards. haha

I sorry NedKelly, you are a braver being then I am. I could not have eaten that. Raw fish yummy, raw pork

so it's raw pork that makes you deaf, not the other thing

I thought the other thing caused blindness?