Diagnostic Tests

A diagnosis can be obtained by inspecting a patient’s vomit (whether or not it contains larvae) or gastroscopy or surgery. If a worm is detected or extracted a positive diagnosis can be made upon history of exposure to raw or undercooked seafood.

A 1985 study by Desowitz et al. and published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that a radioallergosorbent test (RAST) could detect IgE antibodies specific to the Anisakis simplex. A serodiagnosis could then be made to confirm a case of anisakiasis and has served as a useful tool.

http://www.diningonthevine.com/wp-content/Doctor.jpg

Unfortunately, Anisakiasis is commonly misdiagnosed. A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine (319:1128-29, 1988) stated that physicians often confuse Anisakiasis symptoms with acute appendicitis, Crohn’s disease, gastric ulcers or gastrointestinal cancer.

References: http://www.food-micro.nl/Pathogenen/parasiten/anisakis_simplex.htm; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=4039859&dopt=Abstract