A 'specialty' dish of the season: Vietnamese people love it but there is a potential risk of illness, which can cause death

Although "specialty" dishes such as grasshoppers and locusts are delicious, experts also warn that these dishes can pose many potential health risks.

According to Dr. Nguyen Van Dung, Head of the Department of Entomology (Central Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology), even though eating the same type of insect, not all of them are good for health. For grasshoppers, which belong to the insect family, if we know how to prepare them properly, we can completely eat them. However, improper processing can conversely be toxic to the user.

The expert cautioned that people should not eat locusts and grasshoppers to ensure their health . If people really want to eat, they need to know how to handle the intestines of locusts and grasshoppers to ensure safety.

For insects, those with bright colors often contain toxins in their bodies. This is the natural defense mechanism of insects. Therefore, people need to be careful with colorful locusts and grasshoppers because they have a high risk of containing toxins.

Crispy fried grasshoppers (illustration).

"Locusts and grasshoppers in rice fields usually do not contain toxins. However, the intestines of locusts and grasshoppers contain many intracellular parasites and fungi . This is also the reason when processing locusts , grasshoppers, people often have to remove the intestines.

When eating locusts and grasshoppers, if the intestines are not removed, the risk of diseases caused by fungal infections and parasites (endoparasites) will increase ," Dr. Dung said.

In addition to the risk of fungal and parasitic infections, eating grasshoppers can lead to anaphylactic shock. There are some people who are very sensitive to an antigen found in grasshoppers, so this group can suffer severe anaphylactic shock even when eating only a small amount of grasshoppers.

Anaphylactic shock can also be caused by people eating dead insects so their bodies produce toxins, insects infected with poisonous mushrooms, insects eating plants containing toxic sap or insects containing toxins. and these toxins are not destroyed at processing temperatures. In addition, insects themselves are made up of many strange proteins, so they can cause allergies in people with sensitive skin.

Symptoms of poisoning and anaphylactic shock after eating insects

Some symptoms of insect poisoning include: nausea, vomiting, trembling hands and feet. Severe cases may show symptoms of vomiting, convulsions in the limbs, dizziness, jaw stiffness, irritability, difficulty breathing, drowsiness, coma, itchy rash, and rashes all over the body. Insect poisoning, if not treated promptly, can cause death.

In August 2023, in Nghe An, a case of itchy rash, difficulty breathing, and chest pain was recorded. The patient had a circulatory arrest for 15 minutes, but after emergency treatment, his pulse returned. These symptoms appear only 2 hours after eating roasted grasshoppers. The patient was diagnosed with suspected anaphylactic shock due to eating grasshoppers. Because the patient's anaphylactic shock was so severe, the patient later died.

Previously, in July 2023, a 30-year-old man in Thanh Son district, Phu Tho, after eating roasted grasshoppers, had difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and many allergic rashes all over his body. red, itchy, purple lips and limbs, fatigue, low blood pressure. These symptoms appear after only 30 minutes after eating roasted grasshoppers. After emergency treatment, the patient was awake, pulse and blood pressure were stable.