Chapter 88
Aunt Wu's things were scattered all over the floor, and her husband, Uncle Zhang, was rolling on the ground, holding his stomach and groaning in pain.
His face was pale and his whole body was soaked with cold sweat.
Su Yuan was carrying Uncle Zhang onto the tricycle with the help of Su Yu and Aunt Wu, and Aunt Wu took out a raincoat to cover him.
"Miaomiao and Ayu go home." Su Yuanzheng said.
"Let Brother Yu go too. I can handle it at home by myself."
"No, the child can't be home alone at night. I'll take Uncle Zhang to the hospital. You can go home without worry."
After this incident, Su Miao couldn't sleep after returning home. His head was very clear, so he simply turned on the desk lamp and read.
Two hours later, Su Yuanzheng came back, and Su Yu and Su Miao hurried out to greet him.
The rain was quite heavy, and even though he was wearing a raincoat, half of his body was still wet.
Su Yuanzheng went to his room to change his clothes and came out. Su Yu just made some ginger soup for him to drive away the cold. Even in summer, it is easy to catch a cold if you get caught in the rain in the middle of the night.
After watching his father drink a few sips of ginger soup, Su Miao asked, "Dad, what happened to Uncle Zhang?"
"Alas, he has liver fluke."
Su Yu exclaimed: "Liver fluke? What kind of disease is that?"
Su Miao thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be a parasite."
Su Yuanzheng nodded. "Yes, the doctor just told me it's a parasitic disease, caused by some kind of worm that infests the digestive tract and liver and gallbladder. Initially, it causes lethargy, upper abdominal pain, and diarrhea. In severe cases, it can be fatal, with cholangitis and cholelithiasis. Children can also suffer from malnutrition and developmental disorders."
"How did Uncle Zhang get infected with this parasite?"
"I heard from your Aunt Wu that he likes to eat sashimi, which means slicing raw fish and eating it with sauce, without cooking it thoroughly. This makes it very easy for him to get infected. In fact, they were diagnosed when they went to the hospital for a checkup last week. The hospital prescribed deworming medicine and asked them to take it while in the hospital. Your Uncle Zhang didn't want to be hospitalized and insisted on going home. He took the medicine at home and then got sick."
Su Miao disagreed: "This is too dangerous. We still have to follow the doctor's orders. Dad, we have to be more careful in the future. We have to disinfect the tableware and kitchen utensils, and don't drink raw water."
Su Yu nodded nervously: "Yeah, I have changed the habit of drinking raw water. Now I boil water and put it in a big pot."
"That's fine. From now on, after we close the stall at night, we'll scald the washed dishes in boiling water again. This way it will be more hygienic."
The next day, many people knew that Uncle Zhang had sought medical treatment late at night.
Some residents who felt they had initial symptoms also went to the hospital for examination, and indeed a few were found to be infected, and they were immediately hospitalized for deworming.
Several cases of liver fluke disease were detected in the same area in succession, which attracted the attention of the epidemic prevention station, and a working group was sent to investigate.
The Su family is in the catering business, so they are the first to take samples.
Fortunately, none of the three members of the Su family were infected with liver fluke, and the sanitary environment in the store was also very good.
However, the situation in the area was not very good. People were constantly being diagnosed with the disease. The epidemic prevention station began to investigate the source and host of the parasites, and also cooperated with other departments to promote liver fluke prevention measures.
The colorful rental information on the bulletin board was covered by large promotional posters, and propaganda vehicles with large loudspeakers roamed around residential areas, broadcasting for two hours every day before withdrawing.
However, this incident did not affect the Su family's business, and customers still came every day.
An old man was holding a flyer, twisting it around incomprehensible. He waved to Su Miao, who was sitting behind the cashier, and said, "Little girl, come and help me see what the big headlines on this page say."
Su Miao walked over and sat next to the old man, then took the newspaper. "Uncle, this is about how to prevent liver fluke parasites."
"Oh? Is it the disease that's been happening here lately? Can you tell me how to prevent it?"
Su Miao looked at a long paragraph in the newspaper and extracted the important information to tell the old man: "First, pay attention to your food. Freshwater fish, shrimp, and snails are important sources of liver fluke disease. They must be fully cooked before eating. They cannot be eaten raw or half-cooked."
This first point made the diners go crazy. They didn’t pay much attention to the propaganda vehicles they heard about these days, but they didn’t expect it to be reported in the newspapers.
"Miao Miao! Did the newspaper really say we can't eat raw fish? Oh my! But we all love eating sashimi, raw pickled fish, etc., so we have to avoid it this time."
"We love to eat it at home, and my old man likes to go fishing in the Yongjiang River. He catches a lot every week. Doesn't that mean we can't eat it this time?"
Su Miao advised, "Hygiene and safety are the most important. If you indulge in a temporary craving and become infected, you'll be the one who suffers. It's not that you can't eat fish and shrimp, it just means you have to cook them thoroughly and use a safer cooking method."
"Miao Miao, please continue reading. I haven't looked at the list at the alley entrance yet, so it's a good opportunity for you to promote it."
Su Miao continued reading the information in the newspaper: "Please pay attention to the hygiene of tableware and kitchen utensils. The knives used for cutting raw meat and cooked vegetables should be kept separate. Don't worry, we use separate cutting boards and knives for raw meat and cooked vegetables. The tableware and kitchen utensils are disinfected with boiling water every day."
"I'm not worried about your family. Your food and dishes are cleaner than mine, hahahaha!!!"
"The newspaper also said we should pay attention to drinking water hygiene, clean water tanks and taps regularly, boil water before drinking, and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to boost our immunity."
"No more? Any more?"
"These are the preventive measures mentioned above at the moment."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and started talking.
"It doesn't sound difficult. Just pay more attention to hygiene in your daily life."
"Yeah, I was afraid that I would have to spend a lot of money to build something else like before. This is okay."
"You guys, don't take it lightly. I saw those people who went to the hospital to get rid of the worms. They looked pale and thin, as if their skin had been peeled off. It's better not to get infected. Go home and take out the bowls and boil them."
Half a month later, the epidemic prevention station announced the results of the investigation. After sampling the area, a total of 22 people in the area were infected with liver fluke disease.
At the same time, an investigation was also conducted on the worm-carrying host dogs, pigs, cats, mice, etc., and except for a small number of domestic dogs that were found positive, the rest were not found to be infected with liver fluke.
After investigating the daily lives of the infected people, it was confirmed that the cause of the infection was the frequent consumption of raw freshwater fish, and the dogs at home were also infected because they ate raw fish fed by the owner.
During this period, a sick dog died. After an autopsy, it was found that there were more than a hundred liver flukes in the dog's liver, which was a very serious condition.
As soon as this report came out, all residents began to take it seriously, gradually developing hygienic eating habits and eating less raw and pickled food.
But there are still people who cannot give up this delicacy and insist on eating it. Later, they came up with a way to drink a sip of liquor after eating a bite of sashimi. They said that this can kill the parasites.
As for the actual effect, that depends on personal opinion.
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