American tourist infected with lungworm after eating a slug on Dare

An American tourist who ate a challenge slug was one of only three people recently infected with rat lungworm in Hawaii, health officials said.

The three cases are isolated and occurred at intervals every month, according to the Hawaii Department of Health (pdf). All three came from the United States.

As its name suggests, the rat lung worm is caused by a parasitic round worm, Angiostrongylus cantonensiswhich infects the lungs of rats. The parasite is then found in the slugs, which are then eaten by the rats at the end of the cycle.

In humans, the main means of infection is through translucent baby slugs, which may contain thousands of worms hiding under unwashed products.

According to health officials, a person was infected in December after "deliberately eating a slug on a challenge". The others are thought to have contracted the infection by the usual way: to eat salad and unwashed vegetables.

The December case brought the annual total of infections in the state to 10 for 2018.

According to the CDC, symptoms vary, but can include severe headaches or stiff neck. In rare cases, this can lead to neurological problems, severe pain or even long-term disability.

"People have symptoms of bacterial meningitis, such as nausea, vomiting, stiff necks and headaches that are often global and severe," according to the CDC. "In addition, abnormal sensations of the arms and legs can occur."

According to the CDC, most infections resolve spontaneously without treatment because the worm can not survive long in the human body.

"However, serious complications can rarely occur, leading to neurological dysfunction or death."

In Australia, a 19-year-old aspiring athlete began to have epileptic seizures, became quadriplegic, and finally died last year after his brain was infected with the rat lung worm that He had caught eating a slug eight years earlier.

Sam Ballard died in November 2018 after years of seizures. He had been forced to eat and breathe with tubes with constant attention.

The fortune of the young Sydney rugby player, whose mother described him as "previously invincible", went to a party in 2010.

"Twenty-year-old boys, red wine, alcohol, sitting at a mate's table – a slug lies on the table, someone makes fun of a challenge," said his mother, Katie Ballard, in an interview given a year later at 7 News Sydney. "The boys will be boys," she said.

Ballard quickly fell ill and was taken to the Royal North Shore Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a rat lung worm, news.com.au reported.

Health officials in Hawaii recommend the following measures to prevent infection:

• Wash all fruits and vegetables under clean running water to remove slugs and snails. Pay special attention to leafy vegetables.
• Control snail, slug and rat populations around homes, gardens and farms by cleaning debris where they could live and using traps and bait.
• Always wear gloves for your safety when working outdoors.
• Inspect, wash and store products in sealed containers, whether from a local retailer, farmer's market or garden.