Latest news with #ratlungworm
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Urgent warning for Hawaiian tourists as brain parasite cases continue: ‘Don't eat raw food'
Hawaiian tourists are being warned against eating raw food while visiting the tropical state, deemed the 'epicenter' of a nasty brain parasitic disease. Neuroangiostrongyliasis, or rat lungworm disease, is a serious illness humans can become infected with after consuming raw snails, slugs or other specimens that carry the parasite. It can also be transmitted in vegetables such as Kale or potatoes. Its symptoms can mimic the flu, but also be serious. They range from headaches, nausea, coughing and fevers to long-term neurological problems and disabilities, with experts warning the illness can have a severe, lasting impact on those who become sick. 'Don't eat raw food in Hawaii,' Kay Howe told SFGate. In 2008, Howe's son contracted the disease while living in the Puna District of Hawaii Island when he was 23 years old and he went into a coma for months, prompting Howe to become an advocate of the illness. 'This is a tropical place. There's a parasite, and we advise to cook everything,' said Howe, who has since gained her master's in tropical conservation biology and works in a lab specializing in rat lungworm. Hawaii tourists are being warned against Neuroangiostrongyliasis, or rat lungworm disease, which is a serious parasitic disease humans can become infected with after consuming raw snails or slugs. (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Howe and other specialists recommend tourists avoid popular roadside smoothie stops, as produce needs to be washed – and dried – with care. 'I know it's very popular. It's very healthy. But if you haven't been able to inspect the kale yourself, I wouldn't recommend that you include that,' Franny Brewer, the program manager for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, added. While locals know of the disease, many visitors don't – and there aren't any initiatives to educate those visiting. The experts warned that many people are unaware if they've been infected, especially since its symptoms closely mimic the flu. Treatment for the illness includes antiparasitic medicine such as Albendazole, but there is no easy test to diagnose rat lungworm disease. To diagnose, patients require a spinal tap, according to the report. Getting a diagnosis quickly can be difficult, the experts said. 'We often have to fight a doctor to get them to deliver [the Albendazole],' Howe said. 'You know, they'll be, 'Oh, wait until symptoms develop.' And it's like, you don't want to wait for symptoms to develop. That's how bad this is. You know, once it's in your brain, it's in your brain.' In her experience talking with people — and in the case of her son — doctors often refuse to test for rat lungworm, not believing it to be the culprit.' 'The people who are in the ER with symptoms, they have to somehow convince the doctor to give them a spinal tap,' Howe added. The disease, which has seen 80 laboratory-confirmed cases between 2014 and 2023, is largely underdiagnosed. While the number of cases remains relatively low, experts warn the disease is severe and can have lifelong repercussions. There have been 80 confirmed cases of the disease between 2014 and 2023, though experts warn it's often underdiagnosed. (AFP via Getty Images) 'We find that a lot of visitors have never heard of it or might not realize that it's endemic in our state, and we want people to know what they can do to protect themselves,' Dr. Sarah Kemble with the Hawaii State Department of Health told SFGate. 'Don't eat raw snails, slugs, freshwater shrimp. And visitors should be aware that when they buy locally fresh fruits and vegetables, they should wash them very carefully before consuming them.' While the disease occurs on all of the islands, most of the cases have been found on Hawaii Island. Howe now lives several blocks away from her infected son. While he is independent, he was left permanently disabled, with his vision and short-term memory affected, she told the outlet. 'When you have seven serious cases a year or 15 serious cases a year amongst a relatively small population on Hawaii Island, that's not really rare anymore,' she said. 'The severity of the disease and the fact that you may never, very well ever, recover the quality of life that you had. You shouldn't be looking at case numbers. You should be looking at severity.' Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Tourist hotspot named the ‘epicenter' of parasitic brain disease
Tourists visiting Hawaii are being warned the popular holiday destination has become the 'epicenter' of rat lungworm disease, a serious parasitic illness. Neuroangiostrongyliasis is contracted by consuming raw snails, slugs, or contaminated raw vegetables like kale and potatoes. Symptoms range from flu-like illness to severe, long-term neurological problems and disabilities, with diagnosis often difficult and requiring a spinal tap. Experts advise cooking all food thoroughly and meticulously washing and drying fresh produce to prevent infection, especially given the lack of awareness among visitors. While 80 laboratory-confirmed cases occurred between 2014 and 2023, the disease is largely underdiagnosed.
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Urgent warning for Hawaiian tourists as brain parasite cases continue: ‘Don't eat raw food'
Hawaiian tourists are being warned against eating raw food while visiting the tropical state, deemed the 'epicenter' of a nasty brain parasitic disease. Neuroangiostrongyliasis, or rat lungworm disease, is a serious illness humans can become infected with after consuming raw snails, slugs or other specimens that carry the parasite. It can also be transmitted in vegetables such as Kale or potatoes. Its symptoms can mimic the flu, but also be serious. They range from headaches, nausea, coughing and fevers to long-term neurological problems and disabilities, with experts warning the illness can have a severe, lasting impact on those who become sick. 'Don't eat raw food in Hawaii,' Kay Howe told SFGate. In 2008, Howe's son contracted the disease while living in the Puna District of Hawaii Island when he was 23 years old and he went into a coma for months, prompting Howe to become an advocate of the illness. 'This is a tropical place. There's a parasite, and we advise to cook everything,' said Howe, who has since gained her master's in tropical conservation biology and works in a lab specializing in rat lungworm. Howe and other specialists recommend tourists avoid popular roadside smoothie stops, as produce needs to be washed – and dried – with care. 'I know it's very popular. It's very healthy. But if you haven't been able to inspect the kale yourself, I wouldn't recommend that you include that,' Franny Brewer, the program manager for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, added. While locals know of the disease, many visitors don't – and there aren't any initiatives to educate those visiting. The experts warned that many people are unaware if they've been infected, especially since its symptoms closely mimic the flu. Treatment for the illness includes antiparasitic medicine such as Albendazole, but there is no easy test to diagnose rat lungworm disease. To diagnose, patients require a spinal tap, according to the report. Getting a diagnosis quickly can be difficult, the experts said. 'We often have to fight a doctor to get them to deliver [the Albendazole],' Howe said. 'You know, they'll be, 'Oh, wait until symptoms develop.' And it's like, you don't want to wait for symptoms to develop. That's how bad this is. You know, once it's in your brain, it's in your brain.' In her experience talking with people — and in the case of her son — doctors often refuse to test for rat lungworm, not believing it to be the culprit.' 'The people who are in the ER with symptoms, they have to somehow convince the doctor to give them a spinal tap,' Howe added. The disease, which has seen 80 laboratory-confirmed cases between 2014 and 2023, is largely underdiagnosed. While the number of cases remains relatively low, experts warn the disease is severe and can have lifelong repercussions. 'We find that a lot of visitors have never heard of it or might not realize that it's endemic in our state, and we want people to know what they can do to protect themselves,' Dr. Sarah Kemble with the Hawaii State Department of Health told SFGate. 'Don't eat raw snails, slugs, freshwater shrimp. And visitors should be aware that when they buy locally fresh fruits and vegetables, they should wash them very carefully before consuming them.' While the disease occurs on all of the islands, most of the cases have been found on Hawaii Island. Howe now lives several blocks away from her infected son. While he is independent, he was left permanently disabled, with his vision and short-term memory affected, she told the outlet. 'When you have seven serious cases a year or 15 serious cases a year amongst a relatively small population on Hawaii Island, that's not really rare anymore,' she said. 'The severity of the disease and the fact that you may never, very well ever, recover the quality of life that you had. You shouldn't be looking at case numbers. You should be looking at severity.'
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
What is rat lungworm disease and why are cases rising in dogs in Australia?
Cases of rat lungworm disease have been increasing in dogs on Australia's east coast over the past five years, according to new research from the University of Sydney. A very rare but sometimes deadly condition caused by worm larvae travelling up the food chain, the disease has been found in a small but increasing number of dogs in areas affected by heavy rain, and occasionally also in humans. So why are cases growing and how worried should we be? The rat lungworm, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is a parasite that originated in south-east Asia but has spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Europe and Australia. The parasite's natural host is feral rats, but it can accidentally make its way to other animals through a complicated transmission process involving snails and slugs as intermediate hosts. When it finds its way into humans and dogs, rat lungworm can cause a disease called neural angiostrongyliasis. In humans, it's diagnosed as a kind of meningitis, or eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. Symptoms in humans include headaches, a stiff neck, tingling or pain in the skin, fever, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms in dogs include hindlimb and tail paralysis, urinary incontinence and abnormal pain responses. The time between eating the infected slug or snail and getting sick is usually between one and three weeks. University of Sydney doctoral researcher Phoebe Rivory, lead author of the recent paper, explained that it's not the parasite itself that does the damage but the body's attempts to fight it. 'In dogs and humans, the parasite enters the brain but rather than progressing to the lungs like it does in rats, it is killed in the brain by our own immune response. It is that overt immune response that causes severe headaches and sensations,' Rivory said. New South Wales Health says it is rare for humans to develop meningitis in response to rat lungworm, and most people who contract rat lungworm have no symptoms at all, while others may have only mild, short-lived symptoms. Rats infected with adult worms excrete larvae in their faeces, which is then ingested by snails and slugs. Dogs and people are most likely to contract the parasite when they deliberately or accidentally eat a raw snail or slug carrying the larvae, or unwashed vegetables, such as lettuce, contaminated with infected slime. The parasite is not contagious from person to person. In a well-known case, Australian man Sam Ballard contracted eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in 2010 after being dared by his friends to eat a slug. He fell into a coma for 420 days, and acquired a brain injury. Ballard died in 2018, aged 29. In another well-known case, an American woman was found to have rat lungworm disease after multiple attempts to seek medical help for strange symptoms after a holiday to Thailand, Japan and Hawaii. The University of Sydney researchers have been examining the prevalence of rat lungworm disease in dogs on the basis that they are a sentinel population for humans – that is, increased rates of the disease in dogs can be an early warning sign of human disease risk. Researchers analysed 180 clinical samples taken between 2020 and 2024 from dogs suspected to have had the disease, and confirmed 93 cases, all in or around Sydney and Brisbane, and a 'gradual upward trend'. They also discovered a spike of 32 cases in 2022, correlating with high levels of rainfall, which tends to supercharge snail and slug proliferation. Confirmed cases of the disease in dogs are still very low, restricted to NSW and Queensland, and have fallen since the 2022 spike identified by the researchers, although not to 2019 levels. The researchers suggest that educating communities about how to avoid infection, and what symptoms dog owners should look out for in their pets, may be worthwhile. Rat lungworm is not a notifiable disease in NSW due to its rarity. In both NSW and Queensland, preventative anti-parasitic treatments for people, especially children, known to have ingested slugs or snails can be accessed through the health system.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aussie dog owners on high alert for dangerous parasite spread by slugs
Aussie dog owners should remain on high alert for a dangerous parasitic disease that cause a lethal brain infection in both dogs and humans. Rat lungworm disease is a rare but life-altering infection caused by larvae of the parasitic worms found in feral rats and spread by snails and slugs. University of Sydney veterinary researchers are reporting a rise in cases in Sydney and Brisbane following heavier-than-usual rainfall. Up to 93 cases of rat lungworm have been recorded in the five years to 2024 with the risk of infection highest between two and 10 months after heavy rain. Dogs can become paralysed or die if they eat an infected snail or slug. Two Australians have died from the disease to date, including Sydney rugby player Sam Ballard who died after eating an infected slug as a dare in 2010. Mr Ballard suffered a severe brain infection and fell into a coma for 420 days. He died in 2018, at the age of 28, following an eight-year battle with the disease. 'These snails and slugs, and the infective worm larvae in them, can accidentally be a disease source to us humans and our pet dogs,' researcher Jan Šlapeta said. 'Once in humans or dogs, the worms quickly get to the brain where they cause disease.' People are only at risk if they eat an infected snail or slug, like Mr Ballard did, or consume the slime left behind on lettuce and other raw produce. Most people infected with the disease can recover without treatment over days, weeks and months but for some it can be catastrophic. The disease can cause severe meningitis and in rare instances be fatal. NSW Health has advised Australians wash fresh produce before eating and to wash their hands after gardening or handling snails or slugs. There have been 28 human cases between 1971 and 2018, and most people were infected from eating unwashed lettuce or vegetables. The mortality rate was 18 per cent, 14 per cent suffered long-term neurological issues and 57 per cent made a full recovery.
