A Dominican friend showed me his long curvy scar on his head, starting at his forehead and curving back, and i asked him what it was from he told me that when he was 14 or so, (hes 26 now) that he had had surgery to remove a parasite that had ventured up into his head, maybe even to his brain, i can't remember what he said. But anyways, he told me it was from eating meat in the DR and that the only way the parasites could have been killed was if the meat had been cooked for 24 hours or some outrageous amount of time. I asked him what his signs and symptoms were he said blurry vision, headaches, and he told me hes really lucky bc when he went to the Doctor in SD to get checked the doctor was like, you need emergency surgery now......and come to find out the parasite they removed was pregnant and if she had hatched her eggs he would probably have died. He couldn't remember the name of the parasite as it was a funny long name. Is this something that is not common or do you really have to be careful about the meat you eat in DR? I ask because a different meat is cooked every day when im there and not everthing i put on my plate is familiar to me, and sometimes i feel like when i ask im being rude.
- Thread starter audboogie
- Start date
About the meat
Dont have a clue if it's the same thing, but I saw a show on tv the other day about parasites.
One guy basically had the same thing as you described, but in his brain, the parasite that he got was from pig meat, but he never eats pig meat. Apparently he got it from the cleaning lady who does eat pigmeat and she didnt wash her hands very well after going to the bathroom and before cooking...
He got epileptic and blurry vision etc. Because it was in his brain they couldnt take it out, they couldnt kill it completely either, but they did something so that the parasite is in a dorment state now and they have to check once in a while if it stays like that... very creepy!
But I dont think this specific parasite is common in the DR, never heard about it before at least... but parasites in general are pretty common
it's not so much how they prepare the meat, but about the hygene.
One guy basically had the same thing as you described, but in his brain, the parasite that he got was from pig meat, but he never eats pig meat. Apparently he got it from the cleaning lady who does eat pigmeat and she didnt wash her hands very well after going to the bathroom and before cooking...
He got epileptic and blurry vision etc. Because it was in his brain they couldnt take it out, they couldnt kill it completely either, but they did something so that the parasite is in a dorment state now and they have to check once in a while if it stays like that... very creepy!
But I dont think this specific parasite is common in the DR, never heard about it before at least... but parasites in general are pretty common
it's not so much how they prepare the meat, but about the hygene.
Swell...
and here I thought that all I had to worry about was getting robbed or murdered or HIV.
aranoid:
and here I thought that all I had to worry about was getting robbed or murdered or HIV.
aranoid:
audboogie said:
YES you should be careful about the meat you eat 'cause the sanitary conditions these slaughter houses are in is undescribable(sp?). THe laws is not as strict as in the States or Europe. I try not to eat pork or beef unless Its from someone who has killed their own animal, or I prefer chicken, preferably raised in someones backyard.
Bad pork
This almost sounds like trichinosis, which you get from eating undercooked pork. The symptoms are similar. But trichina larvae can't survive in nervous tissue (i.e. brain, spine). And you don't have to cook the pork for 24hrs to get rid of it.
I don't eat a lot of pork even when I am in the states. And I definitely try to stay away from it when I'm traveling abroad.
This almost sounds like trichinosis, which you get from eating undercooked pork. The symptoms are similar. But trichina larvae can't survive in nervous tissue (i.e. brain, spine). And you don't have to cook the pork for 24hrs to get rid of it.
I don't eat a lot of pork even when I am in the states. And I definitely try to stay away from it when I'm traveling abroad.
Trichinosis was the first and only thing that came to mind. I have not witnessed any case of it, but have heard a few stories about it, none of which took place in DR.
Here's some info on it. http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/trich.htm
Here's some info on it. http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/trich.htm
I was thinking trichinosis too, but I didn't know it couldn't live in nervous tissue. Hope everyone knows that we've got tric in the UK and USA also - all you need to do is make sure your meat is WELL DONE. I don't suppose the sanitary conditions are really all that much worse in the DR, I mean, think of how many tonnes of meat must get eaten every week. It would be all over the newspapers if there was some nasty brain-infecting parasite that lived forever. What about a bot fly maggot? But eventually they'd mature and pop out, urrgh.
I don't think this is "toxoplasmosis" which usually is passed through cat feces, and is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their fetuses.
My bet is on "paragonimiasis", which is a type of freshwater fluke. They usually affect the lungs similarly to TB, and may also progress to the adults migrating to the host's brain, which then can produce vision problems, etc. The adult parasites may live for 20 to 25 years.
This parasite is usually passed in uncooked or undercooked freshwater crabs,shrimp, crayfish, or fish which picked up the parasite from polluted fresh water (ever seen the guys selling crabs on a stick, like on the way out of San Pedro, for example?)
One warning to residents or visitors to tropical areas: don't swim in freshwater if it is possibly contaminated by human waste. This is a serious problem in the D.R. This type of contaminated water supports these parasites. Be safe and swim in the ocean, rather than fresh water bodies or rivers. They cannot survive in saltwater.
Here is one reference, and just scroll down to flukes:
http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes...robiology/ParasiticFlukes/ParasiticFlukes.htm
My bet is on "paragonimiasis", which is a type of freshwater fluke. They usually affect the lungs similarly to TB, and may also progress to the adults migrating to the host's brain, which then can produce vision problems, etc. The adult parasites may live for 20 to 25 years.
This parasite is usually passed in uncooked or undercooked freshwater crabs,shrimp, crayfish, or fish which picked up the parasite from polluted fresh water (ever seen the guys selling crabs on a stick, like on the way out of San Pedro, for example?)
One warning to residents or visitors to tropical areas: don't swim in freshwater if it is possibly contaminated by human waste. This is a serious problem in the D.R. This type of contaminated water supports these parasites. Be safe and swim in the ocean, rather than fresh water bodies or rivers. They cannot survive in saltwater.
Here is one reference, and just scroll down to flukes:
http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes...robiology/ParasiticFlukes/ParasiticFlukes.htm
M.A.R. said:
Or how about the carcasses that you see hanging on the side of the road for sale, or the sausage links on a rope with flies all over them? How do people not get sick? My husband makes fun of us in US saying how we kill our meat and freeze it and serve it however many days later and braggs about how the meat in the DR is so much better bc its so fresh....he claims all the dirt, bug poop, exhause fumes that land on the links are fried off when cooked...i just laugh...that can't be healthy
People's immune systems are much stronger here in the DR. Daily dosing to all of the good germs here leads to immunity to almost anything after a couple of years.
My personal favorite is stopping for some roast pig and chicharron along Avenida Mella to the east of Avenida Charles DeGaulle on the way out of the east part of Santo Domingo. They have the roast pigs on a big wood spit, leaning on the sidewalk. Yes, there are Flies around , guaguas spewing diesel fumes and dust as they race by on the way out of the city full of passengers, and whatever amount of time the pig has been there waiting to get eaten just gives the pork a really good local sabor. Can't get that in NYC.
My personal favorite is stopping for some roast pig and chicharron along Avenida Mella to the east of Avenida Charles DeGaulle on the way out of the east part of Santo Domingo. They have the roast pigs on a big wood spit, leaning on the sidewalk. Yes, there are Flies around , guaguas spewing diesel fumes and dust as they race by on the way out of the city full of passengers, and whatever amount of time the pig has been there waiting to get eaten just gives the pork a really good local sabor. Can't get that in NYC.
GringoCArlos said:
I support this wholeheartily.. immune systems are there to be beefed up by regular exposure to germs, as opposed to be weakened by sanitising our food too much..