Paragonimiasis is a disease caused by adult trematodes of the

Paragonimus genus. This zoonosis, adult worms usually parasitize the lungs of humans and carnivores. The infection in humans is the result of a complex transmission cycle that includes two obligatory intermediate hosts, a fresh-water snail and a crustacean or a crayfish and a definitive host. This disease is prevalent in Asia. It has been shown that 10 of more than 50 species of Paragonimus described affect humans in over 39 countries in Asia, Africa and America. It is estimated that 22 million people have paragonimiasis and it is calculated that 293 million people are at risk of being infected. Usually the illness is caused once the parasite has settled itself in the lungs. At the site, the main clinical symptoms include coughing, thoracic pain, and hemoptysis. Paragonimiasis symptoms are very similar to Tuberculosis (TB) symptoms, and patients with paragonimiasis are often misdiagnosed as TB and thus improperly treated. Research has found that the parasite can endure in the metacercaria stage and the infections of paragonimiasis found in the 2nd intermediate hosts and paratenic host can still act as carriers for this disease. Therefore, the paragonimiasis study is still very important in order to achieve correct diagnosis and treatment methods. Public health and Education institutes should study the amount of the parasite in the metacercaria stage in fresh-water crayfish and fresh-water crabs to collect data for statistics and epidemiology. The public should receive information about this disease and should be informed of the harm in consuming raw or not fully cooked fresh-water crayfish, fresh-water crabs, and the possible paratenic hosts.