The Ministry of Health recommends not eating live snails to prevent encephalitis.

Information from the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) on July 31 said that recently, a number of medical facilities have received and treated many serious cases suspected of being infected with the worm Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A.cantonensis).

These cases all have critical developments, some have resulted in death due to using snails containing larvae of the above mentioned worm.

People use uncooked snails as a snack, to cure diseases, to beautify the skin... The use of live snails for treatment has not been scientifically researched and proven.

People who consume raw, uncooked snails are at high risk of contracting encephalitis and meningitis caused by infection with the worm A.cantonensis.

A.cantonensis is a roundworm that parasitizes the lungs of rats. Rats excrete worm larvae through their feces. In the environment, the larvae parasitize intermediate hosts such as mollusks in soil or sea (Ackhatia freshwater snails, slugs, etc.).

Therefore, when eating snails, shrimp, crabs with larvae or eating raw vegetables contaminated with snail slime with larvae, drinking water with larvae, people will be infected with this type of worm. A.cantonensis worm larvae enter the human body and parasitize in the brain or other organs, mainly parasitizing in the central nervous system.

To proactively prevent encephalitis and meningitis caused by A.cantonensis infection, the Ministry of Health recommends that people eat cooked food and drink boiled water; absolutely do not eat raw or undercooked snails for any reason.

Do not eat foods made from snails, shrimp, crabs, fish that are raw or undercooked... in any form; avoid eating raw foods that have been contaminated by snails or slugs, wash vegetables thoroughly to remove mollusks infected with disease-causing larvae.

In addition, people need to clean the environment and kill rats in residential areas to cut off the biological life cycle of A.cantonensis worms, preventing the risk of causing disease to humans. If you have eaten foods made from snails or uncooked shrimp, crabs, snails and have unusual signs and symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea, etc., you need to go to medical facilities immediately for timely examination and treatment.

Every year, our country records a number of cases of encephalitis and meningitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A.cantonensis) infection with symptoms such as severe headache, fever, nausea, meningeal irritation and possible inflammation of the nerves causing facial paralysis, double vision, and sensory disturbances.

Severe cases show symptoms of convulsions, paralysis, slurred speech, loss of balance, memory loss, and coma. The disease lasts from several days to several months and can lead to death./.

According to VNA