Thailand’s Health Ministry doubts Aussie couple’s claim about parasite in Pad Thai

Thai PBS reports that Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health says “there is a very slim chance that a person could contract Dientamoeba Fragilis”, a dangerous parasite, from eating a plate of Pad Thai, as claimed by an Australian Perth couple.

Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg, along with their two children, visited Thailand in 2017.

Read they stay HERE.

Doctors in Australia tried to diagnose their illness and tests eventually revealed the presence of Dientamoeba Fragilis, which the couple claim was ingested with a Pad Thai dish they had eaten at an “upmarket food court” whilst staying at Kata Beach, Phuket (without naming the food court).

However, Dr. Rungruang Kitphadee, an advisor attached to the Public Health Ministry, says inspectors from the Disease Control Department had been sent to Phuket and neighbouring provinces to investigate.

Citing statistics for the past three years, he says there was not a single case of any patients contracting Dientamoeba Fragilis in Phuket, adding that it is almost impossible that the parasite came from Pad Thai because the noodles are fried.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Ong-art Mahitthikorn, a parasite specialist at Mahidol University, said that the parasite can be found anywhere in the world, including Thailand, but it won’t be found in well-cooked food. He also ruled out the possibility that the parasite would remain in the body for two years, noting that the parasite would be discharged from the body of a healthy person.

SOURCE: Thai PBS

Stacey Barnes and Ryan Prigg from Perth say they suffered the effects of a rogue Pad Thai