Opisthorchiasis is a parasitic helminthic disease caused by a flatworm from the genus Opisthorchis. The disease is characterized by a long course, frequent exacerbations, aggravates the course of many concomitant diseases, contributes to the occurrence of primary liver and pancreatic cancer.
DISEASE MANIFESTATIONS
There are no specific manifestations of the disease. Patients are most often treated by different specialists with diseases of the liver, pancreas, stomach, intestines, various allergic manifestations, articular syndrome, etc.
The number of parasites in the body plays an important role. It only increases with repeated consumption of the infected fish. The more helminths, the more pronounced the manifestations of the disease.
The only reliable diagnostic method is to detect opisthorchus eggs in feces or bile.
WAYS OF INFECTION
Infection with opisthorchiasis occurs when eating fish of the cyprinid family, which contains viable larvae of the parasite. These include ide, dace, roach (chebak), bream, tench, gudgeon, minnow, verkhovka, rudd, crucian carp. It is almost impossible to see the parasite larva in fish tissues with the naked eye - its diameter is only about 0.3 mm.
You can get infected with opisthorchiasis if you eat lightly salted, uncooked, fresh-frozen fish (“stroganina”, “patanka”, dish “heh”), freshly caught (“steam room”), etc.
It should be remembered that it is possible to become infected with opisthorchiasis through kitchen utensils - boards, knives, rags that are used to cut raw or poorly processed fish.