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Thai dish so deadly that one bite can give you cancer - and has killed 20,000 people
Brits have long had a love for Asian cuisine, from sweet and sour chicken to sushi - but there is one particular Thai dish that is perhaps worth avoiding.
Known as koi pla, the recipe consists of minced raw fish ground up with a mix of herbs, spices and lemon juice. The meal is popular among locals in the province of Khon Kaen in Thailand and especially in one of the country's poorest regions, Isaan.
However, eating it comes with a huge risk. Taking just one bite of the fish could result in a person developing liver cancer and dying.
But the raw fish itself is not the potential cause of the disease. Instead, it is the parasitic flatworms - or live flukes - living inside them that are the culprits.
These parasites are native to fresh water fish in the Mekong area. This has led Isaan to suffer from the highest reports of cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, in the world due its residents' high consumption of the food, reports the Daily Star.
It is thought that the carcinogenic dish is the cause of 20,000 deaths in Thailand each year. Now, one doctor is aiming to encourage fewer people consume the meal after his parents died from liver cancer after eating it.
Liver surgeon Narong Khuntikeo told Agence France-Presse: "It’s a very big health burden around here. But nobody knows about this because they die quietly, like leaves falling from a tree."
Known as the 'silent killer', liver cancer has one of the lowest rates of survival if left untreated. Khuntikeo has been been working for past four years with a team of scientists, doctors and anthropologists testing Isaan villagers for the parasite.
By using ultrasound machines and urine testing kits it was found that around 80% of people in some communities had ingested the lethal parasite. The surgeon has since been trying to educate locals over the dangers of eating koi pla.
Health officials have also developed a school curriculum to teach children about the risks of raw foods. But the surgeon concedes that turning the older generation off the dish is a tough task.
He said: "They’ll say: 'Oh well, there are many ways to die'," But I cannot accept this answer." Lovers of the koi pla claim that if they cook the fish – which works to kill the parasite effectively – then it ruins the taste of the meal.
注释：
fluke: n
表示"吸虫；侥幸"，means "parasitic flatworms having external suckers for attaching to a host"，如：His failure in history examination was a mere fluke. 他历史考试没能及格纯属偶然。
cholangiocarcinoma: n
表示"肝小胆管癌,胆管癌,"，means ""，如：The morphology of cells from cholangiocarcinoma or from cholangiolithiasis was distinguishable. 胆管癌和胆管结石脱落细胞形态学观察均具有明显特征。
bile duct: n
表示"胆管"，means "a duct formed by the hepatic and cystic ducts; opens into the duodenum"，如：In addition, bile duct antrum but outspread. 此外，胆管腔可扩张。
carcinogenic: adj
表示"致癌的"，means "causing or tending to cause cancer"，如：Didn't you know smoking is carcinogenic? 你不知道抽烟会致癌吗?
concede: v
表示" 承认，让步"，means " admit; allow"，如：I concede that you are right.我承认你是对的。Mike had to concede when he confronted his parents. 当面对他的父母,麦克不得不让步。
lethal: adj
表示" 致命的；危险的"，means "of an instrument of certain death"，如：In situation like this, she wish she have a gun or some lethal weapon. 在这种情况下，她真希望自己有一把枪或什么致命武器。
中文简要说明：
在泰国东北部相当受欢迎的生拌鱼肉料理「Koi pla」，每年在泰国夺走2万人性命，被誉为「最致命」食物，主因在于鱼肉里头的寄生虫可能导致民众罹患致死率甚高的胆道癌（cholangiocarcinoma），外媒甚至指，咬一口就可能罹癌，进而丧命。
综合英国《每日镜报》（Daily Mirror a）、WalesOnline报导，生拌鱼肉料理「Koi pla」在泰国东北孔敬府（Khon Kaen）相当受欢迎，其中又以泰国最贫困的「依善」（Isan）地区最为盛行，这道菜以切碎的生鱼肉为基底，洒上薄荷、香料及柠檬汁，就成了爽口的开胃色拉。
不过这道佳肴其实暗藏健康危机，泰国每年有2万人因它丧命，报导甚至称，咬一口鱼肉，就可能导致食客发展出肝癌并死亡，让「Koi pla」又被誉为「最致命」食物。
不过实际上并非鱼肉本身导致民众罹癌，而是鱼体内的寄生虫在作祟。这些寄生虫原本就寄生在湄公河地区的淡水鱼体内，导致依善成为全球胆道癌病例最多的地区。
孔敬府肝脏外科医生昆堤乔（Narong Khuntikeo）说，「Koi pla」引发的疾病已经对该地区造成很大的健康负担，但其实民众普遍不知道自己因为饮食习惯患病，「因为他们静静地死去」。
过去几年，昆堤乔和其他专家为依善地区的居民进行采检，发现部分地区中，有高达80％的居民都吃进了寄生虫，他自此开始教育村民食用「Koi pla」的风险。
不过昆堤乔的推广工作并不顺利，他说居民会响应「有许多方式都会死」，还有人强调煮熟鱼肉会毁掉这道菜的口感，让他难以接受。
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