Two cases of gastric Anisakiasis for which oral administration of a medicine containing wood creosote (Seirogan®) was effective

Anisakiasis is a disease characterized by an abrupt onset of sharp epigastric pain, which occurs typically a few hours after eating raw or undercooked seafood. Anisakiasis was a Japanese localized disease in the past, however has become an illness of concern in many countries where eating Japanese style raw or undercooked seafood has become popular. At present, the only effective treatment is an endoscopic removal of the nematode. Development of an effective medicine is expected. We report two cases of Anisakiasis, the symptoms of which were ameliorated after the administration of an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine containing wood creosote (Seirogan®). Also, we examined the in vitro effect of the Seirogan® on the viability of the nematode. In the two cases, the strong epigastric pain was subdued promptly after oral intake of the Seirogan®. The exposure of Seirogan® suppressed the viability of Anisakis Larva in vitro dose dependently. The oral administration of medicine containing wood creosote might be effective as a first aid to ameliorate the symptoms of Anisakiasis.