HONOLULU The Hawaii Department of Health says two new cases of rat lungworm disease have been confirmed.
HONOLULU — The Hawaii Department of Health says two new cases of rat lungworm disease have been confirmed.
Health officials say an adult vacationing on the northern side of the Big Island contracted the disease in December, marking the state’s ninth case of 2018.
The person was diagnosed after they left the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the results.
An adult resident of the Big Island’s east side became sick last month. The state verified the testing, marking the first case of rat lungworm disease this year.
The disease is caused by a parasitic roundworm and can affect a person’s brain and spinal cord.
Larvae can be passed to humans who ingest raw freshwater shrimp, land crabs and snails or raw produce that contains infected slugs or snails.
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
