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Seafood‐borne parasitic diseases in Australia: are they rare or underdiagnosed?
Author(s) -
Shamsi Shokoofeh,
Sheorey Harsha
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
internal medicine journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 1444-0903
DOI - 10.1111/imj.13786
Subject(s) - medicine , fish <actinopterygii> , helminths , environmental health , differential diagnosis , serology , consumption (sociology) , immunology , pathology , fishery , biology , antibody , social science , sociology
Australia is a multicultural country surrounded by water where seafood is regularly consumed. Literature suggests that some popular edible fish sold in fish markets may be infected with parasites transmissible to humans (notably, anisakids and other helminths); however the number of reported human cases due to these parasites is low. In this article we critically review topical publications to understand whether the low number of human infection is due to lack of expertise in Australia to identify and diagnose accurately seafood‐borne parasitic infections. The risk these parasites pose to humans may be underestimated due to: (i) errors or inability of diagnosing these infections, primarily due to less sensitive and specific serological tests and misidentifying parasites without a taxonomist in the diagnostic team; and (ii) medical practitioners not being aware of these parasites or not considering them in the differential diagnosis even in patients with history of regular raw or undercooked seafood consumption.