Beware of natural freshwater fish intestinal parasites...Conducting a survey on the status of infections among residents in epidemic areas
Mar 17, 2025
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The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, together with local health centers and the Korea Health Management Association, will conduct a survey on 24,000 residents of 39 cities and counties in the epidemic area around the five major rivers.
The survey on the status of intestinal parasitic infections in epidemic areas is conducted from March to October every year, and samples are collected and diagnostic tested, and the results of the survey are announced at the project evaluation conference in December. In particular, it will support infected person management services such as medication and retesting through the Clo-Net Proton Management System (Clo-Net) for protons who have been confirmed to be infected.
The liver fluke, which accounts for the highest proportion of intestinal parasite infections in Korea, is a food-borne parasite infection, which is infected by eating natural freshwater fish from rivers in epidemic areas. Liver fluke is known as a biological carcinogen that can cause chronic biliary tract disease and, in severe cases, bile duct cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified liver fluke as the first group of biological carcinogens.
Since 2005, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been conducting a project to investigate the status of intestinal parasite infections and support treatment in areas where liver fluke is prevalent. As a result of the 2024 survey, the rate of infection with liver fluke continues to decline, but it still has a high infection rate of more than 5% mainly in some epidemic areas.
The liver fluke infection rate increased from 9.1% in 2005 to 9.4% in 2012, before reaching 3.3% in 2021 and 2.3% in 2024.
Ji Young-mi, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stressed that while the rate of intestinal parasite infection in Korea has decreased compared to the past, it is important to cook and eat natural freshwater fish as it still has a high rate of infection in some regions.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
