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Health officials have confirmed three more cases of rat lungworm disease in adults who have visited Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Ministry of Health.
Newly confirmed cases were unrelated and adults were infected with the parasite causing rat lungworm disease at a few months apart.
Angiostrongylosis, the disease of the lungworm in rats, is caused by a parasitic roundworm and can have debilitating effects on the brain and spinal cord of an infected person. In Hawaii, most people get infected by accidentally eating a snail or parasitic slug, said the Hawaii Department of Health.
One of the recently confirmed cases involved a person who had visited in December 2018 and had deliberately eaten a slug on a challenge, health officials said. This individual became ill but was not hospitalized. This brought the total number of confirmed cases to the statewide in 2018.
The other two new cases confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were earlier this year. One person became ill in January and, without knowing how she got infected, recalls eating a lot of homemade salads during her Hawaii vacation.
According to state health officials, the other person would have fallen ill by the end of February 2019 and would have likely been infected by eating raw fruits, vegetables or other plants. unwashed "directly from the ground".
So far this year, five people in Hawaii have been infected with rat lungworm. Everyone has contracted the parasite on Hawaii Island, also known as Big Island.
The director of the Hawaii Department of Health said in a statement that he acknowledged that there is still much to do to educate residents and visitors and to ensure that they know how to prevent the spread of this disease . "
A person infected with rat lungworm can not infect another person, according to the CDC, and some have no symptoms or only mild symptoms that do not last very long. But sometimes it can cause a rare form of meningitis affecting the brain and spinal cord.
In order to reduce the risk of contracting rat lungworm in Hawaii, the State Department of Health made the following recommendations:
– Wash all fruits and vegetables with running water to eliminate slugs and snails. Pay special attention to leafy vegetables.
– Control snail, slug, and rat populations around homes, gardens, and farms.
– Inspect, wash and store products in sealed containers, whether from a local retailer, farmer's market or garden.
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