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Bamboo cutting boards are not that expensive relative to health care for a long term condition like rat lung disease. I don't think that problem is treated with the seriousness it deserves. Here's my level of seriousness: I eat a lot of lettuce, but I will not eat local lettuce. I get mainland lettuce. The invasive species here are a tragedy, from buffo frogs, to coquis, to axis deer, to disease-carrying slugs and snails.
I regard a snail trail on my lanai as a mortal threat.
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Probably best to get a new board, not because of the ACTUAL threat of ratlung (most of the cleaning suggestions would probably kill the A. cantonensis nematode larvae), but for your wifes' Peace of Mind (reminds me of an old credit card ad: bamboo cutting board - $15, wifes' peace of mind - priceless!!!)
Disinfection data is provided here:
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/p...is-eng.php
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Hmm seems like its split 50/50 with half for replacing and half for bleaching?
I use vinegar only - bleach free household.
Also I don't drink county water.
I guess I'll go shopping : /
Cheers
rainyjim
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The nematodes that gives you rat lung can only live outside of the slug for a number of days, depending upon conditions. If you really don't want to get rid of the board, leave it for a week or so, then wash it. The most effective thing to kill nematode infected things is actually distilled water. Clorox seemed to rid the slime from my hand a couple of times when nothing else that I had would.
We are told that probably the number of nematodes in the slime are not enough to give you a bad case of rat lung worm. I, however, would not take that chance. Time is the issue here as the nematodes will die because they cannot live or reproduce outside the rat/mollusk host cycle, but can be present in dead end hosts like the planaria worm, which you have to be careful about not accidentally eating as well.
The College of Pharmacy in Hilo is actually doing a number of studies on rat lung including what best practices are to cleanse vegetables of the nematode. The malamaopuna.org website has a link to an informative rat lung worm site.
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Dish soap and hot water.
I don't use cutting boards becaues they are inherently good breeding places for all kinds of bacteria. Porus wood is like a petry dish. Use a plate or a Glass cutting board.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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ericip,
So glad you have not been in a coma from meningitis caused by rat lung worm. So glad you have not been crippled and in pain from this disease. Yes it is to be taken seriously. I did not have it that bad, but still suffering from nerve pain.
Educate yourself and do not try to get other people to think the semi slug and angiostrongulas cantonensis, or rat lung worm, is harmless, like seeing a BIG cockroach. It is not. The malamaopuna.org site has a link to a lot of information on rat lung. Please look.
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This guy seems to thnk that wood boards are better than plastic as far as germs go, but only if you clean them well. At the end of the article he suggests microwaving wood boards weekly to kill germs.
Dean O. Cliver, PhD, professor emeritus of food safety at the University of California, Davis, has been studying the issue since the late 90s. Recently he and a group of students cultivated Salmonella bacteria on new and used plastic and wood cutting boards and then cleaned them manually (with hot soapy water and a dish rag). Cliver and colleagues found that wooden cutting boards seemed to pull the bacteria down beneath the surface of the cutting board, where they didn’t multiply and eventually died off. Even older wooden cutting boards with deep grooves had low levels of recoverable bacteria, similar to what was found in new boards. “It’s been suggested that bacteria being slurped down in wood could reappear if you scored the wood with a knife,” says Cliver. But his research has found that the bacteria never reappear on the surface, even after it’s been sliced with a sharp blade.
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Hi MarkP,
We are not talking about bacteria on cutting boards here, but live nematodes that could cause rat lung worm or angiostrongylus cantonsis, a form of meningitis. I think that is the subject of the thread.
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quote:
Originally posted by Shekelpal
ericip,
So glad you have not been in a coma from meningitis caused by rat lung worm. So glad you have not been crippled and in pain from this disease. Yes it is to be taken seriously. I did not have it that bad, but still suffering from nerve pain.
Educate yourself and do not try to get other people to think the semi slug and angiostrongulas cantonensis, or rat lung worm, is harmless, like seeing a BIG cockroach. It is not. The malamaopuna.org site has a link to a lot of information on rat lung. Please look.
Did I say this? No... I would never wish rat lung worm on anyone. But I'm also not going to pull the fire alarm and freak out every time I see a slug... Not all slugs are infected...
It's been said that the chlorine in the city water and the chlorine in the private water (beaches) will kill it. So, Soap and water is what you should use to kill rat lung. I'm not trying to make a mt out of a mole hill nor am I going to freak out when I encounter a slug.
And I'm certainly not going to stop buying local foods at the market. Safeway and mainland fruits and vegetables have killed way more people than rat lung. Choose your risk I guess.
