Thai dish so deadly that one bite can give you cancer - and has killed 20,000 people
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| The lethal meal consists of raw fish mixed of herbs, spices and lemon juice© Wikipedia |
Brits have long had a love for Asian cuisine, from sweet and sour chicken to sushi - but there is one particular Thai dish that is perhaps worth avoiding.
Known as koi pla, the recipe consists of minced raw fish ground up with a mix of herbs, spices and lemon juice. The meal is popular among locals in the province of Khon Kaen in Thailand and especially in one of the country's poorest regions, Isaan.
However, eating it comes with a huge risk. Taking just one bite of the fish could result in a person developing liver cancer and dying.
But the raw fish itself is not the potential cause of the disease. Instead, it is the parasitic flatworms - or live flukes - living inside them that are the culprits.
These parasites are native to fresh water fish in the Mekong area. This has led Isaan to suffer from the highest reports of cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, in the world due its residents' high consumption of the food, reports the Daily Star.
It is thought that the carcinogenic dish is the cause of 20,000 deaths in Thailand each year. Now, one doctor is aiming to encourage fewer people consume the meal after his parents died from liver cancer after eating it.
Liver surgeon Narong Khuntikeo told Agence France-Presse: "It’s a very big health burden around here. But nobody knows about this because they die quietly, like leaves falling from a tree."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/thai-dish-so-deadly-that-one-bite-can-give-you-cancer-and-has-killed-20-000-people/ar-AA1gCtt0
