Preventing meningitis caused by parasites

[canhle]

Thanks to everyone for sharing this. It is important.

canhle

[AlohaSteven]

Reminder- this meeting is happening today, just a couple of hours from now:

"Rat Lungworm Meeting this Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon at SPACE in Kalapana Seaview Estates. We hope to have many well-informed people attending as the purpose of this meeting is informational. Zsolt Halda, who has just been released from the hospital, will be there.

*update*

Jane Whitefield gives us these directions to SPACE, which is hosting the Rat Lungworm meeting mentioned here this Saturday, 1/31/09:

You drive down Hwy. 130 toward Kalapana. When you dead end at the lava, turn left. This is Hwy. 137. Drive toward Kehena and Kalapana Seaview Estates (it’s probably a 10-minute drive and very hilly, but overlooks the ocean - Spectacular!). Turn left into Seaview. Travel up the entrance road until you see the sign on the right that says “SPACE,” with a hand pointing to the left. Follow that to the entrance and parking lot."

Much appreciated if someone will please post a summary of news and developments on the issues after the meeting.


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A pleasant slideshow: http://www.thejoymovie.com

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[lorax]

It was reported in the Honolulu Advertiser:
Dr. Francis Pien, an infectious disease consultant on O'ahu, said he has treated at least 20 cases of rat lung-worm disease in his 35 years of practice..... one local patient...got sick while on the Mainland after eating raw 'opihi in Hawai'i.
The article is at: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/p...9901220344

This is the only mention I've heard of someone getting Angiostrongyliasis from eating 'opihi, but it makes sense, as aquatic shellfish are the main source of the disease in Southeast Asia. This is another reason not to eat 'opihi, whose populations are in trouble due to overharvesting: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/articl...ln08p.html

[AlohaSteven]

Thanks for the news report links, lorax.

Could you please also provide a link to your source for the comment "...as aquatic shellfish are the main source of the disease in Southeast Asia"? The source for this comment would be very useful to see.

Opihi, if I understand correctly, are exclusively a marine invertebrate. It may be aquatic shellfish are indeed the main source of rat lungworm disease in humans throughout Southeast Asia, but if by "aquatic" that which is meant is "freshwater" rather than marine (saltwater, from the ocean) then this would not suggest anything regarding opihi as a potential source of larval infection. All reports to date I have seen indicate the L3 of A. cantonensis becomes inactivated and/or killed in seawater; oysters, for instance, were found to not be infective in animal studies after L3 were administered to the oysters (caveat: this was a coldwater study and temperature may have been as significant as any other factor).

If aquatic shellfish are the main source of the disease in Southeast Asia (even or perhaps especially if "aquatic" is interpreted to mean "freshwater only," as is frequently the case) then this begs the question as to why slugs-via-veggies are the main source in Hawaii. Two potential explanations leap to mind:
-freshwater prawns avidly sought and consumed throughout SE Asia are an intermediate host for infective L3, and
-sadly enough, throughout SE Asia veggies are commonly contaminated with everything from dysenteric agents like Entamoeba histolytica and Shigella to the infective eggs of intestinal nematodes like Ascaris lumbricoides due to fertilization and irrigation with hazardous nightsoil and fecal-tainted surface waters. In consequence people tend to either cook veggies before consuming them (cooking kills A. cantonensis L3) or to plunge, soak, agitate, and rinse veggies in water containing a fresh shot of Clorox before using such veggies in green salads.

It seems likely to me the one case of angiostrongylosis subsequently diagnosed in a fellow who had eaten Hawaiian opihi actually came from a tiny slug hidden in fresh salad he also consumed while in the islands, rather than L3 active in the marine molluscs.

(Typo correction edits in red).

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A pleasant slideshow: http://www.thejoymovie.com

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[StillHope]

quote:

---

Originally posted by anela1111

..
Deadly slugs, biting ants, stinging caterpillars, noisy frogs,
It's our punishment for electing a republican. Guess we'll have to dump em in Maui if we want to have anything done about it.

---

So get the republican,soak him in vinegar,spray him with

copper sulfate,dump him in Maui - problem solved![]

[Chuysmom]

Here's an informational link...it's a meeting that took place recently regarding this issue: Don't know if someone already posted this. If so - disregard.[]

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/puna/2...ngworm.htm

Carrie Rojo

http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com


"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." Barack Obama

[EightFingers]

Is there anyway to simplify all this?
Like:
What is it (in 25 words or less)
Where is it
Vector(s) to humans
How to avoid
Symptoms to look for if "infected"
What to do if diagnosed with it

[AlohaSteven]

Is there anyway to simplify all this?
I'll take a shot, but recommend a more in-depth understanding than this...

What is it (in 25 words or less)
Disease from trauma of larvae burrowing around in nerve tissue trying to find a place they are happy, failing, and dying inside us.

Where is it
Apparently mainly in unwashed or incompletely scrubbed raw veggies (as in deep folds of peppers or the hearts of lettuce) and perhaps in fruit (papaya, figs) reached by little climbing slugs, as well as in dogfood bowls and water bowls slugs drown in. Water catchment tanks into which slugs have washed and drowned may also be a problem.

Vector(s) to humans
Any terrestrial or freshwater invertebrate (slug, snail, prawn, earthworm, etc) which has munched infected rat pooh can potentially pass it to humans (and to dogs, horses, parrots, etc) if eaten raw or if drowned in freshwater (releasing larvae into drinking water).

How to avoid
*Avoid ingesting vectors raw and untreated or uninspected.
*Treat and inspect raw veggies and fruits before consumption (as via scrubbing, soaking in distilled water or salt brine, and rinsing).
*Cooking or boiling kills the infective agent (as in prawns).
*Exert maximum effort to kill all rats in the area; maintain active defenses to reduce the overall rat population.
*Use raised beds with slug barriers; eliminate cover for slugs around gardens (sunlight and drying out are the best defense against slugs, along with perhaps Guinea fowl, ducks, or chickens).
*Cut overhanging vegetation (especially fruit trees) away from roofs connected to water catchment tanks, install filter plates to keep slugs from washing into tanks and drowning there, install a 20-micron (minimum) filter and UV sterilizer between the tank and taps.
*Do not leave pet food bowls out overnight where slugs can get into them.

Symptoms to look for if "infected"
Variable, since the symptoms can be either directly from trauma to different tissues (depending on where the larvae are burrowing around in the body) or from massive immune/inflammatory reactions. Headache, cranial nerve weakness, double vision, pain, and (especially as observed in dogs and other animals) poor motor control.

What to do if diagnosed with it
It is important to seek a diagnosis because the problem may not actually be angiostrongylosis (rat lungworm disease) and even if it is the documentation of incidence is vitally important to understanding and stopping the spread of the disease.
I am not qualified to reply to respond to this question but can pass along the answer given by a medical doctor who has decades of experience treating the disease: "...trying to alleviate the symptoms is about the best we can do at this point (despite the numerous case reports of steroids making a difference: they're all anecdotal, based on odd cases where the patient improved after being given steroids, but what you're not hearing about is the many more who didn't, or got worse, with steroids; their cases don't get published)."
Clearly, the emphasis in this disease is perforce on prevention since not a whole lot can be done after the fact of infection.


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A pleasant slideshow: http://www.thejoymovie.com

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[EightFingers]

AKSteven,
I signed back on just to thank you for your reply, we will make use of it in about two months!

[StillHope]

Alaskasteven,you mentioned dogs getting infected.
How many? What are the symptoms? Any tests a vet can do?