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If you're thinking of eating raw centipedes, do not do it. A new study in China has linked the emergence of highly lethal pathogens transmitted by the ingestion of "fresh" millipedes. The case of a Chinese family who thought it was chasing colds shows how dangerous some beliefs are.
According to the team of researchers, they had never seen the dangerous parasite in a millipede. The stowaway in question is the parasitic worm Angiostrongylus cantonensis also known as the "rat rat", a food-borne parasite that is usually found in snails and other molluscs, and which has also been
The story took place a few weeks ago, when a 78-year-old woman entered the Zhujiang Hospital in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, suffering from headaches , drowsiness and deterioration. cognitive in recent weeks.
Subsequent examination suggested symptoms of meningitis, although not being a viral or bacterial cause of the disease. However, his cerebrospinal fluid indicated traces of antibodies to the worm, indicating a diagnosis of eosinophilic meningitis of A. cantonensis .
All in all, what was really unusual was the way he had contracted the parasite: eat raw centipedes. And while centipedes are not a common food for the most part, dried or crushed have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries (usually in the form of dust), and live specimens are sold in some Chinese agricultural markets. 19659003] Apparently, in this case, the lady's son had served a variety of fresh produce to his uncooked mother. And yes, the boy was also found in the emergency room a few weeks later, showing the same symptoms after ingesting raw millipedes. According to the doctor who treated them, Lingli Lu, from Zhujiang Hospital:
We do not usually hear about people eating raw centipedes, but apparently these two patients believed that centipedes would be good for their health. Instead, he made them sick.
they are out of danger after a cycle of antiparasitic drugs that released them from infection by A. cantonensis . Doctors say that they were very lucky because the infection caused by the worm can result in permanent damage to the central nervous system, and often with lethal results.
Incidentally, to confirm the millipede hypothesis, Lu and his colleagues investigated the same market that the boy had already visited to buy them, and subsequent tests revealed that seven of the 20 thousand acquired patents were tested positive for A. cantonensis .
Moral: do not eat raw centipedes in life. [ScienceAlert]
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