Food-Borne Parasitic Diseases

ABSTRACT

It is obvious that the general status of parasitic infections in Korea has shown a marked decrease, particularly in soil-transmitted helminthic infections. However, food-borne parasitic infections are still regarded as the major parasitic diseases of medical importance in Korea. Generally, the parasitic infections may occur from the following sources by contaminated soil, water, vegetable and fruits, and other animals as food containing the parasites at their immature infective stage, in association with a domestic or wild animal harboring the parasite, and an ectoparasite that transmits the parasite by blood sucking. Human food-borne parasitic infections result from the consumption of undercooked or raw fish, shellfish, snails, vertebrates, and water plants as a food. These infections are significantly related to human behavioral patterns based on socioeconomic and cultural conditions and are linked with the biological and physical environments. Most of food-borne parasitic infections are considered as all parasitic zoonoses to man and animals. To understand the current status of food-borne parasitic infections in Korea, the author presents the list of overall food-borne parasitic infections caused by protozoan infection (toxoplasmosis), trematode infections (clonorchiasis, metagonimiasis, and some intestinal trematodiases), nematode infections (anisakiasis and trichinosis), and others with a briefly reviewed.