Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Or 'O-toro' Sushi Fillets
A sushi chef cuts a fillet of high-quality fatty Atlantic bluefin tuna or "o-toro" at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo March 18, 2010. The outcome of a drive to ban trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, prized as a delicacy in Japan, is too close to call before U.N. talks which started last Saturday that will test the world's ability to protect dwindling fish stocks. The 175-nation meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar, from March 13-25, will vote on about 40 proposals for regulating trade in species including sharks, corals, elephants and polar bears. Reuters/Issei Kato

A Chinese man was suffering from terrible stomach pain and itching skin. He visited the doctor only to find the horrific reason behind the pain. The X-ray report revealed that his entire body was riddled with tapeworms.

Chinatopix.com reported that the man is from Guangdong in Southeastern China. His name however, was not released. Doctors found that the man loves sashimi and that was the reason behind him being infected with worms. The man consumed a lot of sashimi, which is raw slices of meat. Doctors stated that the meat may have contained larvae that after consumption, it spread out as worms in the body.

Daily Mail reported that most often, fish eat the eggs of tapeworms and they attach themselves to the intestines and the flesh becomes contaminated. Since they are not cooked, it easily affects the human flesh as well. Eating those would result in the condition that the man is currently going through.

Dr. Yin who is treating the man at the Guangzhou No. 8 People's Hospital said that tapeworm infestations can be treated with drugs like Praziquantel and Niclosamide. The condition becomes highly dangerous when the worms reach the brain he explained. This condition is called, "cysticercosis." It can also eat other organs of the body like the liver, eyes or even the heart, he stated.

Tapeworms can also go undetected because the symptoms are mild like fatigue, stomach pain and constipation. They can grow in the human intestines up to 15 meters, they can further release more eggs that would spread in the entire body. The problem lies with foods like sushi and sashimi, both of them contain raw meat.

According to the Daily Mail, the cases of tapeworm infestations are more common in the developed countries. News.com.au reported that sushi is the staple meal for thousands of Australians. A study published in the journal Canadian Family Physician also found that people consumption of sushi is high in developed countries and this is contributing to such dangerous conditions. In the city of Kyoto in China nearly 100,000 cases were. In the United States, the Chinatopix website stated that there have been 1000 cases of infestation annually reported.

Doctors warn that such foods could lead to tapeworm infestations and their consumption must be avoided.

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