Public Health and Prevention Strategies
Prevention programs should promote more hygienic food preparation by encouraging safer cooking techniques and more sanitary handling of potentially contaminated seafood. The elimination of the first intermediate host, the snail, is not tenable due to the nature of the organisms habits. A key component to prevention is research, more specifically the research of everyday behaviors. This recent study was conducted as a part of a broader effort to determine the status of Paragonimus species infection in Laos. An epidemiological survey was conducted on villagers and schoolchildren in Namback District between 2003 and 2005. Among 308 villagers and 633 primary and secondary schoolchildren, 156 villagers and 92 children had a positive reaction on a Paragonimus skin test. Consequently, several types of crabs were collected from markets and streams in a paragonimiasis endemic area for the inspection of metacercariae and were identified as the second intermediate host of the Paragonimus species. In this case study, we see how high prevalence of paragonamiasis is explained by dietary habits of the population. Amongst schoolchildren, many students reported numerous experiences of eating roast crabs in the field. Adult villagers reported frequent consumption of seasoned crabs (Tan Cheoy Koung) and papaya salad (Tammack Koung) with crushed raw crab. In addition to this characteristic feature of the villagers' food culture, the denizens of this area drink fresh crab juice as a traditional cure for measles, and this was also thought to constitute a route for infection.
Read more about this topic: Paragonimus Westermani
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