Parasites in freshwater shrimp

[Docno]

I understand that there can be dangerous liver flukes in some freshwater fish in Isaan so it's a big risk to uncooked fish (koi pla etc.). Just wondering if the same risk applies to eating freshwater shrimp/prawns. My gf and I occasionally enjoy a dish of gung dten (dancing prawns), and I wonder if problems could come of it. Thanks.

[tifino]

 

one of missus's GFs a year or so ago, she always ate live (or recently alive but raw) seafood

of all kinds

 

she recently passed away when she had massive organ failures attributed to a chronic case of parasite all through her

 

she was an Isaan girl

 

 

Edited August 15, 2016 by tifino

[lemonjelly]

If I recall correctly, a freshwater snail is one of the hosts which in turn is eaten by the fish. I'm pretty sure shrimp don't eat snails, should be ok.

[NickJ]

Worried more about hepatitis with those dancing shrimp places. Never understood the draw to them....maybe kinda like poprocks candy from my childhood but a live version. 

[Sheryl]

While flukes (the parasite you are probably referring to) are not AFAIK foudn in shrimp, plenty of nasty bacteria is. See http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/04/consumer-reports-tests-find-60-percent-of-frozen-shrimp-contaminated-with-bacteria/#.V7HuvK7h7Dw

 

And of course hepatitis is always a concern

[Docno]

Thanks for the replies/info, all.

Indeed, what starting me thinking of this is that an old school friend of my girfriend, only aged 34, just passed away of some liver-related ailment and he was an avid eater of pla koi. I don't eat that stuff, but do like gung cheu nam pla and gung dten...

[sinbin]

The fluke you are concerned about, that has cause 6 million Isaan folk to have bile duct cancer, is only found in waters which are contaminated with sewage, from my understanding.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/276051/raw-fish-cancer-in-thailand

 

Edited August 15, 2016 by sinbin

[manfredtillmann]

given the huge amount of dead fish i observe daily in the river fish farms i am sure the might mekong is contaminated with lots of things.

who knows what washes down after so many kilometers of farmland and cities she flows through. and it always seems the worst when the river is rising. the locals call it 'shock' but i am certain it is pollution of sorts.

we don't eat river fish any more, but i can't resist the odd dish of gung dtan. had some yesterday...

[Docno]

4 hours ago, sinbin said:

The fluke you are concerned about, that has cause 6 million Isaan folk to have bile duct cancer, is only found in waters which are contaminated with sewage, from my understanding.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/276051/raw-fish-cancer-in-thailand

 

I didn't know it had anything to do with pollution/sewage.... I wonder if there is any truly 'clean' water left in Isaan.

[sinbin]

4 hours ago, Docno said:

I didn't know it had anything to do with pollution/sewage.... I wonder if there is any truly 'clean' water left in Isaan.

 

Quote

 

Life cycle^[1] 

Opisthorchis spp. have a complex life cycle involving a definitive mammalian host and two intermediate aquatic hosts.

• Humans or other mammals eat the encysted metacercariae in inadequately cooked/raw/pickled fish.
• After digestion of the cyst in the duodenum, the larva enters the biliary duct where it matures into the adult worm, which lives off mucosal secretions.
• The worm lays eggs which pass into the stool and enter freshwater where they form a miracidium either before or after colonising various species of aquatic snail.
• Asexual reproduction leads to the formation of metacercariae. These pass to fish where they become encysted in the muscles/scales and complete their life cycle by being eaten by humans/other mammals.

 

•  

 

 

Edited August 16, 2016 by sinbin

[tifino]

8 hours ago, manfredtillmann said:

given the huge amount of dead fish i observe daily in the river fish farms i am sure the might mekong is contaminated with lots of things.

who knows what washes down after so many kilometers of farmland and cities she flows through. and it always seems the worst when the river is rising. the locals call it 'shock' but i am certain it is pollution of sorts.

we don't eat river fish any more, but i can't resist the odd dish of gung dtan. had some yesterday...

 

this is why it's a very good idea, to keep away, the same, from Basa Fish.

The Vietnamese, way down the end of the Mekong,

they fish it,

but only export it - never eat it themselves domestically

[manfredtillmann]

40 minutes ago, tifino said:

 

this is why it's a very good idea, to keep away, the same, from Basa Fish.

The Vietnamese, way down the end of the Mekong,

they fish it,

but only export it - never eat it themselves domestically

thank you, i stupidly thought the stuff comes from the upper nile in africa. another one off the menu...

 

[sinbin]

2 hours ago, manfredtillmann said:

thank you, i stupidly thought the stuff comes from the upper nile in africa. another one off the menu...

 

Basa Fish, aka  Pangasius, is okay to eat. It's exported all over the world and if it was unsafe to eat it'd have been banned. Many false claims about this fish have been made over the years regarding it being farmed and fed with pollutants/chemicals. To date, nothing has been shown to be true.

 

Quote

Since 1999, the US, FDA, and E.U. veterinary authorities have received regular findings of such inspection reports on the quality of the water in aquaculture areas of Vietnam and the findings on the control of toxic residues in Pangasius fish raised in Vietnam. These reports show that the indicators of residue of heavy metals and fertilizers collected from 30 stations in the Mekong lower reaches are much lower than the international permissible levels.

https://qualasaexpertise.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/truth-behind-propaganda-campaign-against-vietnamese-pangasius-fish-by-mr-dương-minh-trị-seafood-consultant-in-vietnam/

Edited August 16, 2016 by sinbin

[Sheryl]

On 8/16/2016 at 6:54 AM, sinbin said:

The fluke you are concerned about, that has cause 6 million Isaan folk to have bile duct cancer, is only found in waters which are contaminated with sewage, from my understanding.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-news/276051/raw-fish-cancer-in-thailand

 

 

This is not correct, flukes can be found in fish in perfectly clean water.

 

Hepatitis, on the other hand, is indeed found only in waters contaminated with human wastes.

 

Both can lead to liver cancer.

[sinbin]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

This is not correct, flukes can be found in fish in perfectly clean water.

 

 

 

Ahh, but what is the definition of clean water? Show me a stretch of 'clean/fresh water' that some mammal hasn't contaminated with body waste.

 

Docno quote 

Quote

I didn't know it had anything to do with pollution/sewage.... I wonder if there is any truly 'clean' water left in Isaan.

 I doubt it very much. But facts state that the further south you travel in Thailand the lower levels of Liver cancers are recorded.

 

Quote

Opisthorchis viverrini is a hermaphroditic liver fluke.^[7] Its life cycle is similar to the life cycle of Clonorchis sinensis.^[7] It involves a freshwater snail, in which asexual reproduction takes place, and freshwater cyprinid fishes (family Cyprinidae) as intermediate hosts. Fish–eating (= piscivorous) mammals, including humans, dogs and cats, act as definitive hosts, in which sexual reproduction occurs.^[7] As a result of poor sanitation practices and inadequate sewerage infrastructure, Opisthorchis viverrini-infected people pass the trematode's eggs in their feces into bodies of fresh water

'Fresh water' I assume is clean water?

Sorry to disagree Sheryl.

[chopin2]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

This is not correct, flukes can be found in fish in perfectly clean water.

 

Hepatitis, on the other hand, is indeed found only in waters contaminated with human wastes.

 

Both can lead to liver cancer.

Hepatitis A causing liver cancer is extremely rare. Its a more common complication to Hepatitis B and C, but those does not transmit through contaminated food or water.

[55Jay]

I avoid fish and seafood here as a general rule.  I don't care for it much anyway, but mostly out of caution over handling and storage, especially seafood being we live up North a ways.  Oddly enough and totally contrary to that,  I will have sushi, but very infrequently.   I'm less cautious when I visit the States and will sometimes indulge with pelagic or very deep water fish species.

 

The market food here does me in but I will partake and often pay the price.  I had some of those flat, pork pieces on a stick and some pork skewers with veg/chilli and pineapple on the stick the other night, done by a stall seller over one of those electric BBQ grills.  I was straight into the loo within an hour then a second trip about 1 hour after that.  My guts were in total revolt, contracting severely, like wringing out a washcloth, again and again. Farkin' horrible. 

[Scotwight]

Every Thai I know takes these a couple of times a year.