Dr. Hoang Dinh Canh - Director of the Central Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology (Hanoi) said that in Vietnam, liver fluke infection is becoming an alarming health problem. About 1 million people are infected with small liver flukes due to the habit of eating raw, salted or undercooked fish. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people suffer from other parasitic diseases, seriously affecting public health.
Small liver fluke disease can cause cholangitis, cholecystitis, gallstone formation, leading to cirrhosis, biliary fibrosis and even biliary cancer. Epidemiological studies show that the disease is common in 20 provinces and cities in the Northern region and 12 provinces and cities in the Central and Southern regions, with about 1 million infected people. The main cause comes from the habit of eating raw fish dishes such as fish salad and pickled fish.
Fascioliasis has been recorded in 53/60 provinces and cities nationwide. This type of fluke can cause liver abscesses and move to other organs, causing serious damage at the site of parasitism.
There are two common types of liver flukes: small liver flukes and large liver flukes (Fasciola spp.). The main causes of infection are:
Eating undercooked freshwater fish: Fish such as silver carp, crucian carp, and grass carp living in polluted environments may contain small liver fluke larvae. People infected with small liver flukes when eating fish with uncooked larval flukes, the larvae enter the stomach, go down to the duodenum, up the bile duct to the liver, develop into adult liver flukes and cause diseases in the biliary tract such as biliary obstruction, cholangitis, and liver abscess due to flukes. The time from eating cystic larva to when the flukes mature is 26-30 days.
Large liver fluke disease: People get infected by eating raw vegetables that grow in water (coriander, water spinach, celery, watercress...) or drinking raw water contaminated with fluke larvae.
Drinking unboiled water or not washing hands properly: Some cases of liver fluke infection can occur due to contact with dirty water.
