Paragonimiasis is a food-borne parasitic disease caused by several species of lung flukes belonging to genus Paragonimus.[4] Infection is acquired by eating crustaceans such as crabs and crayfishes which host the infective forms called metacercariae, or by eating raw or undercooked meat of mammals harboring the metacercariae from crustaceans.[5]
More than 40 species of Paragonimus have been identified; 10 of these are known to cause disease in humans.[6] The most common cause of human paragonimiasis is P. westermani, the oriental lung fluke.[7]
About 22 million people are estimated to be affected yearly worldwide.[8] It is particularly common in East Asia. Paragonimiasis is easily mistaken for other diseases with which it shares clinical symptoms, such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.[5]
^Fischer, P. U.; Weil, G. J. (2015). "North American paragonimiasis: epidemiology and diagnostic strategies - National Library of Medicine". Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy. 13 (6). Peter U. Fisher, Gary J. Weil: 779–86. doi:10.1586/14787210.2015.1031745. PMID25835312. S2CID11364754.
^"Paragonimiasis". Center for Global Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2010-10-13. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
^Haswell-Elkins MR, Elkins DB (1998). "Lung and liver flukes". In Collier L, Balows A, Sussman M (eds.). Topley and Wilson's Microbiology and Microbial Infections. Vol. 5 (9th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 507–520. ISBN978-0340663202.