A University of Hawaii at Manoa study reveals that rat lungworm is widespread in the Hawaiian Islands, and its distribution may expand, especially toward higher elevations as the climate warms.
A University of Hawaii at Manoa study reveals that rat lungworm is widespread in the Hawaiian Islands, and its distribution may expand, especially toward higher elevations as the climate warms.
Rat lungworm is a parasitic nematode with a complicated life cycle, part of which requires living inside snails and slugs. Human infection by this parasite is considered an emerging infectious disease. The range and incidence of the disease are expanding throughout the tropics and subtropics, including in the Hawaiian Islands, making this work especially timely.
Using molecular techniques to screen almost 1,300 snails and slugs representing 37 species from almost 200 sites across the state, the team determined rat lungworm was present in numerous species of snails and slugs on five of the six largest islands. Further, rat lungworm tended to occur in warmer and rainier locations generally, but not exclusively, windward.
Knowledge of where rat lungworm is or could be across the state is important from the perspective of prevention of human and animal infection.
Inspite of washing your vegetables, one should also get a spray bottle and mix a 50% solution of vinegar and water, then spray it on both sides, let it seat for a couple minutes before washing off. This solution will kill any bateria or rat lung.