Recent study reveals that a raw salmon found in the United States has the possibility for Japanese tapeworm contamination. The study was published in the journal entitled Emerging Infectious Diseases by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its issue this coming February.
Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense, commonly known as the Japanese Tapeworm, is a variety of parasites that directly infects the digestion of its prey. Despite the belief that this parasite is common only on fishes that are found in Asia, the recent study revealed that a Japanese Tapeworm has actually infected a wild pink salmon that was caught from Alaska, CNN reports.
The incident has led to the theory by several scientists that there is a possibility that the salmon gathered along the North America's Pacific coast can be assumed to be infected by the Japanese Tapeworms. Salmons can be reasonably unsafe especially to people who likes to eat it uncooked.
According to Travel and Leisure, Japanese Tapeworms redevelop because of the increasing number of people eating raw fish resulting to larger global importation. There are already 2,000 cases of Japanese Tapeworm infection that are reported all over the world, most of which came from the North Eastern part of Asia. This makes Japanese Tapeworm the world's second most common source of tapeworm infection in the world.
The study even provides supplementary confirmation that salmon caught from North America may practically be the source of a wide-spread human infection caused by parasites. Normally, salmons caught in the Pacific are distributed unfrozen to local markets and fishing ports. Having said that, the development of tapeworms called plerocercoids have the tendency to survive carriage and may basically cause infections to consumers.
Based on the results of a study conducted by a team of scientists in 2013, there are four types of Pacific salmon which are known to be probable for Japanese Tapeworm infection. These are the masu salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon and the pink salmon. These are also the most exported salmon in the world which are actually served in restaurants from Asia to Europe, to America and to Canada.
Sushi and anything that goes with raw salmon is definitely a blockbuster in every corner of the world. But with the emergence of these infections involving raw fish, we can always prefer to be on the safe side. Besides, salmons can be served at its best on many ways possible.
