Rare brain parasite infection in Maui

[easyrider]

There has been an uptic of a rare brain parasite infecting tourist on Maui. Its called rat lung worm disease. Even though it is the consumption of molusks or prawns that are thought to be the way the parasite enters a human , it could also be unwashed produce that was slimed by a slug or snail. CNN reports that there are 9 confirmed cases with 6 from Maui and 3 from Big Island.

Bill

http://www.malamaopuna.org/ratlung/needtoknow.php

The parasite can be transferred to slugs, and snails in the 3rd larval stage; it has also been found in flatworms. Humans pick up the parasite by ingesting slugs/slug slime contaminated fruits /vegetables/water or raw or undercooked slugs, snails, mollusks, prawns and monitor lizards. Humans are a dead end host, the parasite will not develop to sexual maturity and may live for up to a year in the human body but will eventually die. While the parasite has been in Hawaii a long time, cases of illness have risen with the introduction and increase in the population of an invasive semi-slug (Parmarion martensi), which is native to SE Asia.

Slugs may leave parasites in their slime trails including on countertops, cooking /eating implements and even toothbrushes. A very small piece of a slug can contain as many as a thousand parasites. Developing slugs (neonates) carry the parasite as well; they are very small, approx. 2mm in length, and can be difficult to see.

 

[Chrispee]

This has been around for a while as my wife was freaking out at the farmers' markets a year ago when we went to Kauai. Thanks for sharing, it's a pretty scary looking disease!

 

[Southerngirl528]

My understanding is that it has been a problem a good deal longer and moreso on the Big Island. There is a very good current discussion on this on another forum (hope it's ok to post a link as this is travel/health related!):

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29220-i86-k10384325-Caution_Rat_Lung_Disease-Maui_Hawaii.html

 

[WalnutBaron]

I read about this couple who came down with the disease as a result of their honeymoon trip to Hana. The symptoms are pretty severe. One of the sufferers has gone through "multiple surgeries, two pneumonias, a blood clot, and kidney complications".

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

There has been an uptic of a rare brain parasite infecting tourist on Maui. Its called rat lung worm disease. Even though it is the consumption of molusks or prawns that are thought to be the way the parasite enters a human , it could also be unwashed produce that was slimed by a slug or snail. CNN reports that there are 9 confirmed cases with 6 from Maui and 3 from Big Island.

Bill

http://www.malamaopuna.org/ratlung/needtoknow.php

Rat lung worm disease. That sounds like something that you might be exposed to during a timeshare sales presentation.

 

[silentg]

I am getting paranoid! First stress of flying and now of eating fruit in Hawaii! Maybe I'll just stay home for a while?
Silentg

 

[vacationhopeful]

I like South Florida ... 2 hour flight time, lots of good seafood, interesting tours, lots of liquid refreshment.

Plus I have been to Hawaii twice now. It got very crowded between the start of the 1st Gulf War and 5 years ago. Those were the time frames I traveled to the 50th state.

 

[easyrider]

We didn't buy any fresh produce at the farmers market that couldn't be peeled or cooked. The day we showed up the best items were the giant avocados and green beans. While it would be a real bummer to get brain worms I doubt that would change our travel plans.

Bill

 

[Chrispee]

We didn't buy any fresh produce at the farmers market that couldn't be peeled or cooked. The day we showed up the best items were the giant avocados and green beans. While it would be a real bummer to get brain worms I doubt that would change our travel plans.

Bill

FYI it's inconclusive as to whether or not the parasite can be transmitted through touch, so just picking up fruits/vegetables could be dicey.

 

[easyrider]

FYI it's inconclusive as to whether or not the parasite can be transmitted through touch, so just picking up fruits/vegetables could be dicey.

We are kind of lucky that our ts is on the dry side. If its not a slug causing brain parasites it might be a mosquito causing dengue or zika. So far it has been the sneaky wave that has caused most of my problems, so I guess Im lucky.

I think we do eat some odd exotic fruit that we get from the farmers market but it has to be peeled. We do eat shrimp/prawns and oysters. Oysters are a molusk so Im glad I don't like raw oysters. An oyster shooter tastes terrible, even with some hot sauce and especially so with a rat lung worm parasitic nematode.

Bill

 

[MuranoJo]

Does this mean timeshare exchanges to HI will offer more availability in the future?

Seriously, not to make light of what sounds like a nasty bug--I don't know what you can do about prepared seafood to ensure it's safe from this parasite. Even without the threat of the parasite, try to make sure food is kept at the right temperature for type of food. The one and only time we got ill in MX was very early-on in our visits, and that was because we had crab in a buffet which had apparently not been properly chilled for the time it was in the buffet.
Plus, yes, washing produce, including the skins of items you peel or slice.

 

[hjtug]

Posts seem to focus on the risk for tourists. It would seem that permanent residents would be most at risk. I wonder what the breakdown is of infection of permanent residents vs. tourists. If the risk to folks who are there 365 days a year, year after year, is extremely small then the risk to occasional tourists might be much, much less.

 

[WalnutBaron]

It appears to have struck both residents and travelers. One of the problems is that the slug is quite small and leaves thousands of parasites in its slime trail.

 

[presley]

I've heard about this several times. It is something that comes up a lot on the show Monsters Inside Me. Sounds like you can just wash your produce and be okay. Sometimes people get it who live there by picking stuff from their garden and eating it. While the major infection in people is rare, the snails and slugs who carry the disease are extremely common all over the islands.

I believe there was another story a while back about a woman who ate a slug while competing in one of the competition shows where you are living on your own in the wild. It was a very popular show, but I never watched it and the name escapes me. She got very ill. I don't think she was in Hawaii, though. I think she was in a jungle in the south America.

I found a narrative by the woman. She cusses a lot. I am hesitant to post the link because of that. Her name is Hurricane Rita and while I still don't see the name of the show, it happened in Fiji.

 

[CAron1022]

Does anyone 'know' if washing the outside of fruit will eliminate the possibility please?

 

[VegasBella]

Rat lung worm disease. That sounds like something that you might be exposed to during a timeshare sales presentation.

Bah dah bing! Thread joke winner!

Does anyone 'know' if washing the outside of fruit will eliminate the possibility please?

CDC says "How can I keep from getting infected with this parasite?
Don't eat raw or undercooked snails or slugs, frogs or shrimp/prawns. If you handle snails or slugs, wear gloves and wash your hands. Always remember to thoroughly wash fresh produce. When travelling in areas where the parasite is common, avoid eating uncooked vegetables."
link: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/angiostrongylus/gen_info/faqs.html

So that sounds like it can be washed off. But it also says to avoid uncooked veggies in areas where it is common. Not sure this level of infection makes Maui an area where Rat Lungworm is "common" but if you're worried maybe just avoid uncooked veggies during your trip.

 

[Roger830]

A few weeks ago locals on the Big Island got infected by drinking kava from a container left open outside overnight.
A slug was found in the bottom.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/...se-after-drinking-homemade-kava-on-big-island

 

[presley]

Does anyone 'know' if washing the outside of fruit will eliminate the possibility please?

Yes, that is how to avoid it. Some people have been infected by picking lettuce or strawberries in their own garden and eating on the spot without rinsing it off. My concern is actually eating salads in restaurants. We all assume that the salads were properly washed, but how do we know for sure. If you wash it yourself, you are fine.

From this article https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...alization-brings-brain-invading-worms/522153/ it looks like it happens in other places, too, we just don't hear about it too much. "Rat lungworm has long been prevalent in parts of Asia and the Caribbean—the first human case of the disease was recorded in Taiwan in 1944—but only recently has it been identified routinely in the United States, including in Hawaii, California, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, according to a 2015 study in the Journal of Parasitology. The geographical distribution of this disease has “changed dramatically” in just a few decades, wrote the authors of a separate study, published in the Hawaii Journal of Public Health in 2013."

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Yes, that is how to avoid it. Some people have been infected by picking lettuce or strawberries in their own garden and eating on the spot without rinsing it off. My concern is actually eating salads in restaurants. We all assume that the salads were properly washed, but how do we know for sure. If you wash it yourself, you are fine.

From this article https://www.theatlantic.com/health/...alization-brings-brain-invading-worms/522153/ it looks like it happens in other places, too, we just don't hear about it too much. "Rat lungworm has long been prevalent in parts of Asia and the Caribbean—the first human case of the disease was recorded in Taiwan in 1944—but only recently has it been identified routinely in the United States, including in Hawaii, California, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, according to a 2015 study in the Journal of Parasitology. The geographical distribution of this disease has “changed dramatically” in just a few decades, wrote the authors of a separate study, published in the Hawaii Journal of Public Health in 2013."

So I guess we eats salads and fruit in our units and order cooked food in restaurants. Scary stuff.