Last year, a 37-year-old man in the Czech Republic ate raw pike roe. After two months, he developed stomach and intestinal problems, and after another two months he expelled part of the tapeworm.
In the Czech Republic, the first domestic case of diphyllobothriosis, which is caused by the tapeworm, occurred in the Czech Republic. On Wednesday, scientists from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (ASC) reported on the case from 2023. According to them, the man became infected after eating pike caviar from the Lipno reservoir in southern Bohemia. Although the tapeworm can grow up to several meters in length, according to scientists, it does not cause serious health complications and the disease is easily treatable, informs the correspondent of TASR in Prague.
Lots of eggs
According to parasitologists from the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, a 37-year-old man ate raw roe in October 2023. After two months, he developed stomach and intestinal problems, and after another two months he expelled part of the tapeworm. A subsequent specialized medical examination confirmed the presence of a large number of eggs of the broad-leaved hookworm, and treatment was started.
“Given that the patient had never before consumed raw fish or other raw or insufficiently heat-treated fish products, this infection can be considered the first proven case of autochthonous diphyllobothriosis in the Czech Republic,” said Tomáš Scholz from the Institute of Parasitology of the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.
According to scientists, despite detailed genetic analyses, it is not possible to trace exactly how the parasite got to Lipno. “According to our conclusions, it is unlikely that the tapeworm was introduced into the Lipian reservoir with planted fish or infected copepods. It is most likely that the parasite was introduced into the dam by a tourist from an endemic area, for example from Russia, who released tapeworm eggs into the water with his stool or its surroundings,” explained parasitologist Roman Kuchta.
They examined a number of fish
The scientists then examined more than a hundred predatory fish from Lipno in May and August, but they did not prove the presence of larvae of this parasite. Apart from a few areas in Russia, the parasite is currently found primarily in alpine lakes in northern Italy, Switzerland and France.
A person can become infected with this disease only if he consumes raw or insufficiently heat-treated fish or fish dishes, especially from greenish perch or northern pike. Animals such as dogs, cats and foxes can also become infected. According to scientists, the eggs of this tapeworm are not infectious for humans.
