Although notorious for clogging pumping stations, eroding levees and stealing bait, the Chinese mitten crab poses a perhaps equally significant, albeit less recognized, human health threat as a host for a group of parasites known as lung flukes. Flukes, which come in Asian and North American varieties, can be acquired by eating uncooked or under-cooked infected mitten crabs. People infected with flukes may develop tuberculosis-like symptoms, resulting in permanent lung damage. Flukes can also track into the brain.
