THIS INFORMATION WAS SENT TO ME BY A CAV BROTHER
I am writing to inform all Vietnam veterans about a potential health risk that they may have been exposed to while serving
in Vietnam: the little-known danger from parasites.
My husband, who was otherwise healthy, passed away on January 20, 2006, from cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the bile duct
of the liver. It is very rare in the United States, but very prevalent in Vietnam and surrounding countries. There are two
known causes of this type of cancer: from contracting hepatitis C and from ingesting a parasite from the water supply in Vietnam.
My husband did not have hepatitis C; therefore, it was determined that his cancer derived from a parasite. I have received
official notification from the VA that his death was service related, which is not something the VA determines without an
overwhelming amount of evidence.
This cancer does not manifest itself until later in life, when you are between 60 and 70 years old. Once the symptoms
occur, which usually include jaundice, it is very difficult to treat or beat. My husband was 58 years old when he passed away.
If he had been informed that there was a possibility that he could have ingested a parasite while serving in Vietnam, he would
have taken precautions to have his bile ducts examined, possibly extending his life. The parasite is long gone, but it left
behind damaged cells, which developed into cancerous tumors in the bile ducts.
If you spent time in Southeast Asia and are having gastrointestinal issues for no apparent reason, please have your physician
check for damage within the bile ducts. It may
This is what I found on WIKIPEDIA regarding the parasite warning to Nam vets. There are a couple types of the critter
but this is the one in Vietnam. This is what Wiki says about it, but anyone can edit and post on Wiki so it can be good or
bad in accuracy, I don’t know why anyone would post inaccurate stuff on this though. FYI Clonorchis sinensis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Clonorchis sinensis is a human liver fluke in the class Trematoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes. This parasite lives in
the liver of humans, and is found mainly in the common bile duct and gall bladder, feeding on bile. These animals, which are
believed to be the third most prevalent worm parasite in the world, are endemic to Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia,
currently infecting an estimated 30,000,000 humans.
Life cycle The egg of a Clonorchis sinensis (commonly: human liver fluke), which contains the miracidium that develops
into the adult form, floats in freshwater until it is eaten by a snail. Once inside of the snail body, the miracidium hatches
from the egg, and parasitically grows inside of the snail. The miracidium develops into a sporocyst, which in turn house the
asexual reproduction of redia, the next stage. The redia themselves house the asexual reproduction of free-swimming cercaria.
This system of asexual reproduction allows for an exponential multiplication of cercaria individuals from one miracidium.
This aids the Clonorchis in reproduction, because it enables the miracidium to captilatize on one chance occasion of passively
being eaten by a snail before the egg dies. Once the redia mature, having grown inside the snail body until this point,
they actively bore out of the snail body into the freshwater environment. There, instead of waiting to be consumed by a host
(as is the case in their egg stage), they seek out a fish. Boring their way into the fish's body, they again become parasites
of their new hosts.
Once inside of the fish muscle, the cercaria create a protective metacercarial cyst with which to encapsulate their bodies.
This protective cyst proves useful when the fish muscle is consumed by a human. The acid-resistant cyst enables the metacercaria
to avoid being digested by the human gastric acids, and allows the metacercaria to reach the small intestine unharmed. Reaching
the small intestines, the metacercaria navigate toward the human liver, which becomes its final habitat. Clonorchis feed on
human bile created by the liver. In the human liver, the mature Clonorchis reaches its stage of sexual reproduction. The hermaphroditic
adults produce eggs every 1–30 seconds, resulting in the rapid multiplication of inhabitants in the liver.
Effects on human health Dwelling in the bile ducts, Clonorchis induces an inflammatory reaction, epithelial
hyperplasia and sometimes even carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts, the incidence of which is raised in fluke-infested
areas eg. Asia [1] . One adverse effect of Clonorchis is the possibility for the adult metacercaria to consume all bile created
in the liver, which would inhibit the host human from digesting, especially fats. Another possibility is obstruction of the
bile duct by the parasite or its eggs, leading to biliary obstruction and cholangitis (specifically oriental cholangitis).
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