Kaohsiung’s E-Da Hospital on Wednesday warned against drinking unboiled or unfiltered water from mountain streams to avoid ingesting parasites, after treating a woman with a leech in her throat.
The hospital treated a 60-year-old woman surnamed Shen (沈) who was complaining of feeling “something in her throat” and was coughing blood, said an otorhinolaryngologist at the hospital, Wang Chih-chun (王誌群).
The patient, who grows coffee trees in Kaohsiung’s Maolin District (茂林), often washed her face or rinsed her mouth using nearby water sources, Wang said.
Photo: Hsu Lee-chuan, Taipei Times
Shen had previously been diagnosed with oral cancer and was less sensitive to what passed through her mouth, Wang said, adding that the hospital discovered a leech in the glottis and trachea area of her throat.
Shen’s exposure to untreated mountain water might have given the leech an opportunity to enter her body, possibly through the nasal cavity, Wang said.
Juvenile leeches are only 2mm to 3mm long and are barely visible, Wang said, adding that the leech found in Shen was already 10cm long and 1cm wide, indicating that it had been with her for at least three weeks.
With anesthetics, the leech was removed and Shen reported feeling better, Wang said.
Hosts often fail to detect leeches, as they secrete a mild anesthetic to remain hidden, he said.
Wang urged people who hike and camp in the mountains to avoid drinking water directly from ponds or streams, and that any food washed with the water should be thoroughly cooked and boiled before ingestion.
Wang also said that people should visit their nearest clinic or hospital if they have difficulty breathing, bleed from the mouth and nose without reason, or feel that there is “something” in their throat or ear.
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