I absolutely love sushi. I would eat it every day except that it is a little pricey. Plus it’s never clear whether you would get mercury poisoning from eating it every day or not. And then there’s the whole thing where they don’t give you the fish they advertise. However, ignoring the cost, the mercury and the switcheroo, I love sushi.

But now I find out that sushi might give me parasitic tapeworms…

Are urban tapeworms on the rise?

Specifically:

Once the bane of rural Japanese villagers, a paper in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on the spread of the the salmon tapeworm Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense. The parasite, which can reach lengths of 39 feet (12 meters), has been steadily increasing its global distribution and prevalence – mostly among yuppies with a hankering for sashimi and ceviche.

One hospital in Japan reported 14 cases last year, up from 3 cases in 2000. And starting in 2006, the tapeworm has been popping up for the first time in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, farm-raised salmon from South America have been plagued by a closely related tapeworm that normally infects perch and other freshwater fish.

This isn’t a problem normally because most people cook salmon. But if the local sushi dojo is using salmon instead of tuna for the sashimi, presto you are eating raw salmon and you get a 39 FOOT LONG TAPEWORM.

So… is this the final straw? Do I finally give up on sushi?

Here’s how tapeworms work in cats…

And here is one of the segments in real life:

OK, I’m done.

[[[See previous PSA - sometimes henna tattoos are permanent]]]