Man’s Liver Gets Infected With Worms After He Ate Raw Seafood For 3 Years


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Last Updated on 2022-10-02 , 7:10 pm

I believe many of us here love sashimi.

However, we have always heard people talking about how dangerous eating raw seafood can be.

And you know what they say about how love can help you conquer everything in the world?

It also conquered our fear of the possible illness that we may be infected with from raw seafood.

Except, it only conquers the fear, not the real situation.

Fever And Cough Lasting For 10 Days

A Chinese man, Lim, from Fuzhou, Fujian, was suffering from cough and tons of sputum (a mixture of saliva and mucus), which worsened into a high fever and a persistent cough for 10 days.

Lim initially tried self-medication but his illness did not get better.

He then went to the doctor, where some tests and x-rays were done.

To Lim’s surprise, or maybe to his horror, it was more than just fever and cough – the x-ray has shown live parasites in Lim’s liver and he was diagnosed with liver fluke disease.

Liver Fluke Disease

According to Medical News Today, liver flukes are parasites worms that live in bile ducts – the thin tubes that links your liver and small intestines – and liver of infected person or animal.

Liver flukes are said to be able to live in a person’s body for 20 – 30 years.

This disease, however, does not spread from one person to another.

Instead, most people got infected if they have:

  • Consumed freshwater fish infested with flukes
  • Ate freshwater vegetables such as watercress
  • Drank contaminated water
  • Washed vegetables or fruits with contaminated water before eating them

Symptoms include pain, fever, nausea, and diarrhoea, and in worse cases, it can even cause stone formation and bile duct cancer.

Lim Loves Freshwater Sashimi And Shrimp

This may be a piece of bad news to many, but yes, salmon is a freshwater fish too.


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According to World of Buzz, Lim had a misconception that as long as he used mustard on his raw seafood, it would be free from bacteria.

And as we all should realize by now, mustard obviously does not kill any bacteria or parasites.

The doctor had also advised staying away from raw seafood to prevent being infected, and if you really, really, extremely love sashimi, make sure you get it from a reputable seller.

Fresh Sashimi Are Not Served Fresh

Our all-time favourite sashimi is, unfortunately, freshwater fishes, and technically it has a high chance of causing liver flukes as well.

But, sashimi is technically not eaten “fresh”.


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Most of us may not have known about this, but sashimis were supposed to be frozen before serving it raw.

According to HuffPost, freezing kills parasites in fishes’ flesh, and that these fishes are supposed to be frozen for up to 7 days at -4 degrees Fahrenheit or for 15 hours at -31 degrees Fahrenheit before consumption.

However, certain kinds of seafood such as shellfish, farm-raised fish and tuna do not require this process as they do not pose the same parasitic threat.

Yet again, the question remains as to, how would we know if the seafood did go through the process or not.

Regardless of what it is, just bear in mind that whenever you’re unwell, skip the self-medication and just head to the doctor.

Health is wealth, as always.


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