Peeling water chestnuts with teeth may expose to which parasite?

• A. Fasciolopsis buski
• B. Fasciola hepatica
• C. Paragonimus westermani
• D. Clonorchis sinensis

Answer: (A)

Infection from metacercariae on aquatic plants is the risk here. Fasciolopsis buski is the giant intestinal fluke transmitted when people eat raw or inadequately cooked aquatic vegetation, such as water chestnuts, that harbor metacercariae on their surface. Handling or peeling these vegetables with your teeth can transfer those encysted larvae to the mouth, leading to intestinal infection as they develop in the gut. Other parasites listed are associated with different foods or routes (for example, liver flukes with certain raw vegetables or fish, and lung flukes with undercooked crustaceans), so they’re not the typical exposure from peeling water chestnuts.