Acute gastric anisakiasis: 28 cases during the last 10 years.

Anisakiasis is a disease which occurs following eating raw fish infected with anisakis larvae. Many cases have been reported from Japan and from other countries with increasing opportunities of eating raw fish such as "sushi" and "sashimi." We have reviewed 28 patients with acute gastric anisakiasis during the last 10 years from November 1984 to October 1994. This disease has rarely been detected in persons over 60 years of age and in patients with gastric surgery. Therefore it is postulated that gastric acid secretion influences the activities of anisakis larvae. An alkaline gastric pH could interfere with the toxicity of anisakis larvae.