Paragonimiasis: a Japanese perspective

Paragonimiasis is a subacute to chronic inflammatory disease of the lung caused by infection with Paragonimus species lung, flukes. Paragonimiasis is a typical food-borne parasitic zoonosis. The disease is endemic in some arts of Southeast to far-East Asia, Africa, and Latin America where people habitually eat uncooked or undercooked freshwater crabs/crayfishes or wild animal meats. Recently, however, paragonimiasis patients have been seen sporadically almost all over the world because of the increase in the number of overseas travelers and the popularization of ethnic dishes in developed countries. Since symptoms and radiological findings of paragonimiasis are nearly indistinguishable from those of pulmonary tuberculosis or lung cancer, paragonimiasis always should be included in the differential diagnosis of lung diseases. Immunodiagnosis to detect parasite-specific antibodies has proven to be the most useful and reliable tool, not only for the diagnosis of paragonimiasis, but also for the evaluation of chemotherapy. In this article the authors describe the clinical features of paragonimiasis with reference to the stages of infection. Recent trends of diagnosis and treatment for paragonimiasis are also reviewed briefly.