AVOID BRAIN INFECTING PARASITES

Ever heard of Angiostrongylus cantonensis? I bet you have now, even if you know it better as "rat lungworm disease." This brain infecting parasite was caught by two newlywed Californians while they were in Hawaii. Let’s face it, there is something thoroughly unpleasant about the idea of a worm crawling around in your brain. And, what’s more, according to the wife, it is very painful. And as evidenced by the experience of the husband, who spent a month in the ICU and is still hospitalized, the complications from this parasite can be very serious indeed.

So what are parasites? We've all heard of people being called "parasites." The chances are that you may have called your unemployed son a "parasite" at some point. A parasites is an organism that lives on or in a "host" organism and gets its food from it. In the process it can cause a lot of agony and damage to its host.

Parasitic diseases are most common in tropical, low-income countries, especially among the poorer people of those nations. I spent much of my professional life working in such areas, including on health and environmental problems affecting the poor. So guess what? Although I was very careful, I caught a number of parasites. I missed this one, thank goodness. Believe me, any parasite is not much fun at all.

So are we really at risk from them in countries like America and other industrialized nations? The answer is yes. A major reason is the increase in global travel, including to some pretty poor areas where in decades gone by, tourists generally did not go.

And yes, usually you get it from your food or water. In the case of the unlucky couple who are currently in the news, they probably caught the rat lungworm parasite from eating badly washed fruit or a vegetable such as lettuce, which carried this parasite-infected slug, a piece of the slug, or maybe just even just the slime of an infected slug. Or perhaps they got it from undercooked or raw crabs or freshwater shrimps.

What is the food safety lesson from this? Don’t eat raw vegetables (especially lettuce) while in tropical areas and make sure that any shellfish you eat is thoroughly cooked.

TSF

PARASITE DRUGS IN IMPORTED BEEF

The Safe Food Handbook (the book, that is, not this blog) makes what may seem like an odd statement when discussing parasites in meat: "Nowadays parasites in North American beef and poultry are much lower risk than they used to be, thanks to safety measures being taken by the industry. In fact, we may be as much at risk from getting a dose of an anti-parasitic drug from our steak as we are for catching a tapeworm." Recent events seem to agree.

Northwestern Meat, Inc., a Miami, Fla. firm, has announced a recall of some 6,240 pounds of frozen boneless beef products because the animal drug Ivermectin was found in a sample of it. This drug is a strong de-wormer, used in animals and poultry. Alright, it is also used for humans, but it can be dangerous for children under 5 years of age, and for those who react to it. In other words, it should be used in a selective and controlled way, under a doctor's supervision. We shouldn't be essentially dosing ourselves from our dinner. Particularly if we don't have parasites.

Nor is this the first time that Ivermectin has turned up in our meat. For instance, in 2010, Sampco, Inc., Chicago, recalled over 25 tons of cooked canned and frozen beef products (mainly corned beef) because this drug was found. There have been other instances as well. And you had better believe that many cases are not caught by inspectors - probably most.

The beef in this week's recall was imported from Honduras. The beef in the 2010 recall, came from Brazil. Is this telling us something? Yes, parasites tend to be more common in warm and moist climates such as these, and controls are weaker. This results is more parasitic infections in animals, which in turn leads to heavier use of anti-parasitic drugs such as Ivermectin since animals don't grow and fatten well if they are infected with parasites, which would undermine profits.

In the end, it's all about money. Our health may be a casualty along the way.

To your good health,
TSF