ABSTRACT
This chapter provides state-of-the-art overviews on foodborne diseases caused by Gnathostoma in relation to their etiology, biology, epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Gnathostomiasis, a helminthic zoonosis, is a dangerous foodborne disease caused by spiruroid roundworms of the genus Gnathostoma. Adult Gnathostoma parasites generally live in a tumor of the stomach wall of their mammalian hosts. Adult Gnathostoma worms have a cylindrical body: male worms are about 1-3 cm, and female adult worms are about 2-5 cm in length. All species of the genus Gnathostoma exploit copepods in freshwater or brackish water as the first intermediate hosts, perhaps with low species specificity. Gnathostoma spinigerum was initially imported into Japan when snakehead fish were introduced from China, and its life cycle was established in central to southwestern Japan. In Korea, Gnathostoma larvae were collected from freshwater fish in the southeastern part of the country, and G. hispidum and/or G. nipponicum larvae were found in snakes and/or frogs.
