The number of U.S. infections from fluke worms in the lungs increased dramatically in 2009 and 2010, according to a new report, which traced the increase to the raw crawfish that people ate during recreational river trips.
Nine cases of paragonimiasis — the medical term for infections with the parasitic worms — were reported in or around Missouri in 2009 and 2010, after all of North America saw only seven cases in the previous 40 years, the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
People become infected with the fluke worms by eating raw crawfish. Seven of the nine most recent cases occurred after people ate the crustaceans while on recreational river cruises.
Posts
