This article originally appeared and was published on AOL.com
Doctors have issued a serious warning about sushi’s recent spike in popularity after a man in Lisbon, Portugal, was violently sickened by the Japanese delicacy.
According to the British journal BMJ Case Reports, the healthy 32-year-old man was admitted to a hospital after suffering severe abdominal pain, vomiting and a low-grade fever for a week.
When questioned by medical staff, the patient revealed that he had recently eaten sushi, which led physicians to believe he may have a disease called anisakiasis.
Anisakiasis is caused by worm parasites of the species Anisakis, which are often transmitted by consuming raw or undercooked fish or seafood.
An endoscopy revealed that the man did, in fact, have a large, worm-like parasite growing in an enflamed area of his gut.
After the larva was removed, the patient’s symptoms allegedly stopped immediately.
Although most cases of anisakiasis have been reported in Japan where a raw fish diet is very common, the report warns that it has become more prevalent in Western countries where sushi is growingly popular.
The report urged other physicians to consider anisakiasis when treating patients exhibiting symptoms like abdominal pain and vomiting, as it “should be suspected in patients with a history of ingestion of raw or uncooked fish.”
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