Did you know that anisakis is a parasite that lives in practically all marine species? It can reach our digestive system and cause serious health problems. If you do not want to suffer its unpleasant consequences, you must learn to recognize it, end it and know how to act in the event that it lodges in your body.
We spoke with Dr. María Teresa Audicana, an allergist and specialist in anisakis, to explain how to “put a face” to this little bug and what we should do in the event that it settles in your body.
How to spot anisakis
Anisakis is a parasite that is in the sea, so we cannot avoid it. However, it is a bug visible to the human eye, so we can learn to recognize it. How is it? It can manifest itself in two ways:
- Anisakis is white to pearly pink in color and measures 2 to 3 cm when free in the abdominal cavity of fish . Sometimes they form tangles that contain dozens of larvae or settle around the abdomen of the fish (pieces called "skirts").
- When they are cystic, they acquire a dark spiral shape due to the melanin of the fish itself.
What are the symptoms of an anisakis infection
If you eat fish with anisakis larvae and they "nest" in your intestine, you can start to feel discomfort immediately, although there are cases in which the infection can take two weeks to manifest . The most common symptoms are:
- Severe abdominal pain
- Sickness
- Vomiting
- Altered bowel rhythm (constipation and diarrhea)
In more serious pictures , it is possible that your condition is complicated and you feel:
- Difficulty breathing
- Dry cough
- Chest noises
- Feeling of choking
- Dizziness
- Loss of consciousness
- Drop in tension and shock
Anisakis, in addition to digestive problems from eating fish with their larvae, can also give us an allergic reaction. In this case, the symptoms are similar to those of other allergies:
- Urticaria
- Angioedema
- In severe cases, anaphylactic shock
Fish that may contain anisakis
According to studies, any marine fish can be parasitized by anisakis larvae. Among the numerous species of fish and cephalopods that suffer from parasitization are many that we eat regularly, such as herring, sardines, anchovies, salmon, pollock, hake, blue whiting, loach, mackerel, bonito / tuna, monkfish, turbot or horse mackerel. Anisakis larvae can also be present in cephalopod mollusks (squid, octopus).
- Beware of pickled anchovies! According to a study by the Institute of Marine Research, most of the annual infections by anisakis tend to occur due to homemade anchovies poorly macerated in vinegar. It is also important to know that vinegar treatments and marinades are not enough to kill anisakis.
But not everything was going to be bad news … You can be completely calm if you eat bivalves (oysters, clams, mussels, cockles, etc.), shellfish (crustaceans) river fish, such as trout or carp and salmon, as long as when not wild .
How to prevent the spread of anisakis
Dr. Audicana, an expert in this parasite, explains that it has been shown that the most effective measures to kill anisakis are:
- Quick freeze at less than -20ºC for at least 48 hours.
- Cook the fish at a temperature above 60ºC for at least 2 minutes inside the piece.
These conclusions are what lead the WHO to recommend cooking the fish or freezing it before using it for raw consumption. So now you know, if you love sushi, ceviche, anchovies in vinegar or any other raw fish preparation, freeze it first.
- Therefore, the most effective measure to prevent the spread of anisakis is to avoid the consumption of raw fish not previously frozen or insufficiently cooked.
If you or someone in your environment has had anisakis, don't worry, it is not spread from patient to patient, it only passes from fish to human in an attempt to access its definitive hosts, which are large marine mammals (whales and seals among others).
According to Dr. María Teresa Audicana, allergist and member of Top doctors, "the most reasonable thing is to continue consuming fish in a normal way. It is a very important food in our diet and the knowledge of the risks that its consumption may entail should not do that our eating habits change . The general population should eat normally any kind of fish bought with the sanitary guarantees in force in our country (the legislation requires freezing the fish that is going to be consumed raw) ". In short, if you follow the above recommendations and avoid consuming raw fish that have not been previously frozen, you will have little chance of becoming infected.
Do not suffer in restaurants because the legislation requires them to freeze all fish that is going to be consumed raw.
Anyway, don't be alarmed ahead of time. The most common is that these larvae cause allergic reactions that, in most cases, usually manifest with urticaria .
Effective treatments against anisakis
If you have very severe abdominal pain, go to your doctor and tell him about your symptoms. Do not forget to tell him that you have eaten fish, specifying what variety it was and how it was prepared. Most poisonings end up healing themselves, but there are times when the discomfort persists or worsens and a specialist intervention is necessary.
According to Dr. Audicana, "the most effective treatment is the extraction of the larvae , a procedure that usually makes the symptoms disappear in a few hours. Sometimes, a surgical intervention is necessary, although the normal thing is that a treatment with serum and antibiotics is enough for healing. "
Numerous antiparasitic pharmacological treatments have been investigated, but currently there is none that is effective against this disease.
In case of allergy , there is no specific treatment . Symptoms are treated the same as other allergic reactions: antihistamines, corticosteroids, bronchodilators, and adrenaline depending on the symptoms that the patient presents.
