Lung rat: Australian boy eats snail, falls into coma and dies

The day Sam Ballard's life is set to change forever dates back to a few years ago: in 2010, when he was 19, he was sitting in the garden with friends. They drank wine and joked when suddenly we

snail crawled on the terrace. The boys noticed the animal and thought that it would be fun that someone eats the snail. A stupid idea, a test of courage, nothing more. Sam grabbed the slug and swallowed the slimy animal.

A few days after the test of courage, Sam developed a leg pain, reported the Australian television show "The Sunday Project" in April of this year. Sam's mother, Katie Ballard, initially feared her son would have multiple sclerosis (MS). The explanation seemed obvious to him. Even Sam's father suffers from chronic inflammatory disease of the nervous system. Sam also spoke to her mother about the challenge with the slug – but she waved her hand. "I told him:" No, no one will get tired of that. "

Rat lung worm in the brain

The doctors finally found the reason for Sam's complaints: he was infected with a dangerous parasite, the so-called

rats-Lungenwurm. The main hosts of the worm are the rats in whose lungs he lives. The larvae of the parasite survive in rat excrements that are eaten by snails. Shrimp or frogs can also transmit larvae. People contract the parasite by eating contaminated animals raw or not overpopulated. Lettuce leaves are another option for infection. Snails hide and eat without being noticed.

The rat lung worm is native to Asia, but is also found in Australia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands. Infections in humans are usually harmless and heal on their own.

It was different with Sam: he became ill of a rare form of meningitis, because the worm had been introduced into the brain. He fell into

comafrom which he woke up after 420 days. From that day, he was paralyzed at the neck and could not eat alone. His family took care of the young man with sacrifices from that moment on.

Sam's fight against the disease ended last Friday. He died at age 29, surrounded by friends and family members.