Pulmonary lesions from parasites in raw food

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Al,

Pay attention. These are only two of hundreds of parasites that can

be acquired by eating raw food:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020901/817.html

Echinococcus tapeworms are parasites that infect dog species worldwide

and occasionally are transmitted to humans. Infection occurs most

commonly in persons who raise sheep or cattle, and who have contact

with dogs. The tapeworm eggs are typically ingested during play with

dogs or through consumption of garden vegetables or water contaminated

by dog feces. The most common sites of tapeworm cyst formation within

the body are the liver and lungs, although any internal organ or bone

can be infected. The tapeworm infection is generally asymptomatic for

10 to 20 years, until the cyst grows large enough to cause problems.

Untreated infection can be fatal. The possibility of this uncommon

infection is most often considered when cysts are found on imaging

studies of affected organs.

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http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/fluke_infections.jsp

Fluke infections

Definition

Fluke infections are diseases of the digestive tract and other organ

systems caused by several different species of parasitic flatworms

(Trematodes) that have complex life cycles involving hosts other than

human beings. Trematode comes from a Greek word that means having

holes and refers to the external suckers that adult flukes use to draw

nourishment from their hosts. Fluke infections are contracted by

eating uncooked fish, plants, or animals from fluke-infected waters.

Symptoms vary according to the type of fluke infection.

Description

In humans, fluke infections can be classified according to those

diseases caused by liver flukes and those caused by lung flukes.

Diseases caused by liver flukes include fascioliasis, opisthorchiasis,

and clonorchiasis. Cases of liver fluke infection have been reported

in Europe and the United States, as well as the Middle East, China,

Japan, and Africa. Diseases caused by lung flukes include

paragonimiasis. Paragonimiasis is a common infection in the Far East,

Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Indonesia, and the

Pacific Islands. It is estimated that between 40 million and 100

million people worldwide suffer from either liver or lung fluke

infections.