Anisakiasis (or Anisakis poisoning) is the disease caused by the infection of Anisakis, a genus of parasitic nematodes whose life cycle affects fish and marine mammals, where it can cause lesions in the digestive tract.
People are accidental guests of this parasite. Larvae may be acquired if raw, uncooked or not previously frozen fish is consumed.
Gastric manifestations include abdominal pain, accompanied or not by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which may resemble other diseases such as appendicitis, ileitis (inflammation of the small intestine called the ileum), gastric ulcer, intestinal obstruction and even abdominal tumors. Cases, where joints and other organs (lung, liver, pancreas and spleen) were involved, have also been found.
The diagnosis is reached through medical questioning and detailed physical examination. Endoscopic procedures (e.g. gastroscopy or colonoscopy) make seeing and extracting the larvae possible.
Symptomatic treatment is enough to end this infection, as it usually ends up healing on its own over time. The best treatment for intestinal anisakiasis infection is the removal of the parasite early through a gastroscopy. Some patients require removal of the worm by means of urgent surgery. For the treatment of allergic symptoms, antihistamines, corticosteroids are usually recommended, and even adrenaline in cases with very severe symptoms.
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