Article about man w/rat lung disease from B.I.

[sistersue]

If we only eat lettuce and spinach in plastic boxes from California, are we safe from RLW? Or can the slugs get into the boxes after they get to Hawaii? Does anyone know or should we stop eating all raw veges? Thanks for any opinions.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Guy claims it was "confirmed parasitic meningitis", but not confirmed of the rat lung worm variety... Seems like a confirmation would identify the parasite.

From Hawaii DOH:

Diagnosing angiostrongyliasis can be difficult, as there are no readily available blood tests. In Hawaii, cases can be diagnosed with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, performed by the State Laboratories Division, that detects A. cantonensis DNA in patients' cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or other tissue.
http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease_li...ngyliasis/

Recycle Puna. Humans, although probably not you personally, have already left 400,000 pounds of trash on the moon. - YouTube's Half As Interesting

[DTisme]

I personally don't eat local lettuce or greens, especially organic, bc to me "organic" means "full of bugs." I do eat the Manoa & butter lettuces that come in the plastic bubble containers. I believe those are grown in greenhouses. We have a friend with RLD and it is not pretty. He can't even have a single sheet over him to sleep at night bc the nerve pain is so bad.

I, too, am super surprised at how small those baby semi slugs are.

Not sure why all the shouts of BS on the article. Even if it isn't RLD, per se, that guy got something here and is super sick from it. It's ruined his life.

[Kenney]

At this point there is not a definitive test for RLW in the US, which is why Dr. Jarvi and her team have been working so hard to develop one. (without adequate funding or support.)

It’s ridiculous that we must depend on a spinal tap for diagnosis.
Ever seen or had a spinal tap? I have and it’s not a pretty sight. Try lying still while a long needle is inserted into your spine.

We need a RLW Test.

[rainyjim]

They have a test, as HOTPE pointed out..

It is a PCR test (this is very specific and definitive).

It doesn't appear spinal tap is necessary as they state 'or other tissues'.

In rats, they can test the blood for presence of RLW with PCR.

I am unsure if a blood test is very reliable in humans, but I do know the parasites are also found in the intestines, not just the spinal cord.

Clearly, more research is needed. But its not like there is no test or way to identify infection.

[Kenney]

They do not have a BLOOD test for RLW. That is what UH School of Pharmacology was working on.

They may be able to detect the parasite “in other tissues” RJ, but they don’t. Spinal Tap is the commonly used procedure for definitive diagnosis until such time as a blood test is developed, tested and approved by the FDA.

[Eric1600]

The spinal tap fluid is the only recognized method of diagnosis at this point in time.

Yes, there is a much simplified blood test that UH School of Pharmacy is developing, however funds were diverted to TV ads instead of spending it on a clinical trial or other RLW research such as scientifically testing prevention methods (which also have not been done or proven).

See my comments (Posted - 11/02/2017 : 09:57:35) from our last RLW discussion about costs and current status of RLW research: http://www.punaweb.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23260&whichpage=12

[terracore]

"that guy got something here and is super sick from it. It's ruined his life."

I feel bad for the guy but he's claiming something from Hawaii has ruined his life and his only proof is that he ate hotel salads, got immediately sick with virtually no incubation period, and made a self-diagnosis using the internet. For all we know he was exposed to something before he came to Hawaii and if his self-diagnosis is wrong he could be missing a treatment for what really ails him.

"Or can the slugs get into the boxes after they get to Hawaii?"

It's possible rats and slugs can get into the warehouses where mainland food is stored, and RLW exists now on the mainland:

"The parasite that causes rat lungworm disease is now endemic in the southeastern United States, and it’s expected to spread northward." https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...ms/522153/

(Incidentally, this individual was from the southeastern United States.)

[Durian Fiend]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kenney


It’s ridiculous that we must depend on a spinal tap for diagnosis.

---

This is the only method of diagnosing parasitic meningitis of any kind, not just the rat lung variety. That's why I questioned his statement about it being confirmed as "some sort" of meningitis.

Of course, not all rat lung worm cases progress to meningitis. Still, finding those little devil parasites must be a difficult task.

[ElysianWort]

I also heard of a case where a teenager committed suicide after contracting the disease but was unable to track that down, but:

For those who think this disease cannot kill:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/04/19...suspected/

https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/...ekey=24880

http://khon2.com/2017/04/03/state-invest...hildbirth/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3689490/