Uh-oh, your salmon might be filled with tapeworms

Find out if your favorite fish is a health risk

Bad news for fish lovers: Your salmon might be riddled with tapeworms, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

That’s what scientists determined after they examined a sample of wild Pacific salmon from Alaska—including Chinook salmon, pink salmon, rainbow trout, and sockeye salmon— and found larva of Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiensen in their muscles. Previously, this parasite was only known to infect fish in Asia, Food Safety Magazine reports.

This type of tapeworm, known as the Japanese broad tapeworm, is a common cause of a condition called diphyllobothriosis, which can result in diarrhea or abdominal pain.

The researchers say that this shows that salmon caught anywhere on the Pacific Coast of North America may be infected.

Because these kinds of salmon are often transported unfrozen, the larvae may be able to survive the journey. Then, if you eat salmon raw—say, like in sushi— or not sufficiently cooked, the parasites may be able to enter your body and make you sick.

But taking certain preventive measures can keep you safe: You can kill the disease-causing tapeworm larvae by making sure to cook the salmon thoroughly. Cook the fish to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says—it should separate easily with a fork. You can also freeze the fish at -4 degrees Fahrenheit or below for 7 days, according to the CDC.