To the Editor.— Given the public's continuing fascination with raw seafood delicacies, the editorial by R. E. Fontaine 1 on anisakiasis in the United States requires some clarifying comments and an update. Larval anisakid worms frequently do develop beyond the third stage in man. Fourth-stage larvae of Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova (-Phocanema) decipiens (Krabbe, 1878, Gibson and Colin, 1982) are frequently found in both the stomach and intestine of man. At least one adult male P decipiens has been recovered from man, 2 and I recently identified a partially molted adult male A simplex , which was found in situ attached to the duodenum of a patient suffering acute abdominal pain and vomiting of four days' duration (see below). For those who savor "poisson cru," it is unfortunate but true that not only salmon ( Onchorhunchus sp) and herring ( Clupea sp) among fish surveyed from US waters regularly have Anisakis larvae in
[1]
R. Fontaine.
Anisakiasis from the American perspective.
,
1985,
JAMA.
[2]
M. Kliks.
Anisakiasis in the western United States: four new case reports from California.
,
1983,
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene.
[3]
M. Kliks,et al.
Larval Ascaridoid Nematodes from Fishes near the Hawaiian Islands, with Comments on Pathgenicity Experiments
,
1982
.
[4]
B. Myers.
Anisakine Nematodes in Fresh Commercial Fish From Waters Along the Washington, Oregon and California Coasts.
,
1979,
Journal of food protection.
[5]
J. Grainger.
The identity of the larval nematodes found in the body muscles of the cod (Gadus callarias L.)
,
1959,
Parasitology.