New eating habits, new parasitic risks: The example of fish

• Published in: Bulletin de l'Académie Nationale de Médecine
• Main Authors: Dupouy-Camet, J., Gay, M., Houin, R.
• Other Authors: Faculté de médecine de l'Université Paris-Sud Kremlin Bicêtre, Paris, Laboratoire de sécurité des aliments de Maisons-Alfort (LSAl), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Professeur honoraire des Universités, Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Anisakidae; Anisakis; Dibothriocephalus latus; Raw fish; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Burbot
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03493357; https://hal.science/hal-03493357/document; https://hal.science/hal-03493357/file/S0001407920305380.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.banm.2020.10.003

International audience Introduction: In the past decades, the massive explosion of “Japanese” restaurants serving raw fish popularised new culinary habits in France. At the same time, consumers have made a habit of preparing raw or pickled fish dishes themselves at home. As a result, the identification of live parasitic worm larvae in raw fish flesh is common and a source of concern for professionals or amateur cooks. Sometimes, these worms are spit out or removed after fibroscopy in patients developing severe epigastric pain quickly after eating raw fish. This paper is aiming at having a quick review of the main parasites transmitted to humans by eating raw fish in France.Methods: This article is based on the personal experience of the authors, on references preferentially from the French literature and on the results of the Fish Parasites (ANR) research program.Results: From 2011 to 2014, Fish-Parasites (ANR) assessed the prevalence of parasitism in sea and freshwater fish belonging to 29 species. About 57% of sea fish were parasitised by Anisakidae. Larvae of Dibothriocephalus latus were found in pike, perch, and burbot in Lake Geneva but in none of the fish examined from Annecy or Le Bourget lakes. Concerning human anisakidosis, a retrospective survey was carried out in the years 2010 to 2014 among all medical parasitology laboratories from university hospitals in France. Thirty-seven cases of anisakidosis have been reported, including 18 cases of allergic anisakidosis. Six additional cases of severe Anisakidae allergy were reported to the National Allergovigilance Network over the same period.Conclusions: Despite the increase in consumption of raw fish, and compared to previous studies, cases of anisakidosis are decreasing, but their allergenic potential is increasing. The incidence of dibothriocephalosis, after some trend of emergence on the shores of Lake Geneva some 20 years ago, is currently decreasing, but sporadic cases of importation are still reported. Actions with professionals (investigation, ...