Eating these foods can easily bring worms into your liver.

During a routine medical examination, the abdominal ultrasound results of Ms. D.TP (residing in Phuc Tho, Hanoi) showed 2 hypoechoic nodules in the liver. The patient was then transferred to Hospital 198 of the Ministry of Public Security. From the results of the abdominal CT scan and MRI, the doctors suspected that she might have a liver abscess or liver tumor.

The patient was referred to Dang Van Ngu Hospital (under the Central Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology). After examination and testing, the results showed that she had large liver flukes without liver tumors.

Dr. Tran Huy Tho - Permanent Deputy Director of Dang Van Ngu Hospital, said that cases like Mrs. P.'s are not rare. At the examination area, many patients come to the clinic because of itchy skin, pain in the lower ribs, and even stomach pain that has not gone away for many years, but when tested, it is due to parasites.

Doctor Tho said that the left lobe of the liver is close to the stomach, so many patients with large liver flukes have symptoms that are easily confused with stomach pain. That makes them treat for many years without being cured.

Doctor Tho also received a young male patient, residing in Thanh Hoa, who had an ultrasound scan and discovered a liver tumor at the provincial level. The patient was transferred to the surgical department. The doctor performed surgery to remove a lobe of the liver, but when he removed it, a worm came out instead of a tumor. Immediately after that, the patient was transferred to the Parasitology department for treatment.

There are two types of liver flukes:

The first,giant liver flukeParasites in the liver parenchyma form abscesses. The cause is often eating undercooked aquatic vegetables such as celery, Vietnamese coriander, water spinach, lotus root, etc. Large liver flukes swim in the water in the form of larvae. Then, they attach to snails and vegetables. If people eat them, they will become infected.

When infected with liver flukes, in the acute stage, the patient has signs of pain in the right hypochondrium or fever, itching and severe muscle pain. When ultrasound detects damage to the left liver area. In this case, the doctor only needs to prescribe medicine to remove large liver flukes.

However, Dr. Tho said that some patients had no symptoms. After a health check, an ultrasound of the liver showed liver damage and increased eosinophils. The patient was then transferred to the Central Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology for testing to detect large liver flukes. Therefore, Dr. Tho recommends that before surgery to remove the liver lobe, the patient should have tests to rule out large liver flukes to avoid the possibility of surgery.

Monday,small liver flukeis due to the habit of eating raw freshwater fish. Small liver flukes parasitize animals through feces into ponds and freshwater fish carry these flukes. When eating raw fish, the flukes enter the body.

The patient has no symptoms. Some people occasionally have pain in the right lower ribs. When examined, the doctor performed an ultrasound and found a thick gallbladder wall and tested for liver fluke eggs in the stool. Small liver flukes can cause jaundice, biliary obstruction, and even biliary tract cancer.

Doctor Tho said that when examining patients, doctors often pay attention to the epidemic area and the patient's eating habits to determine the parasite. To prevent liver flukes, doctors recommend that people give up the habit of eating raw or undercooked food. The notion that eating raw food is cool is not correct and also increases the risk of parasitic infection.