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That UH site has a lot of info. Thanks glassnumbers.
Q. Can slug-eating livestock get RLW, i.e. chickens or ducks? Can slug eating chickens pass it on to us through eggs or meat?
The parasite cannot be passed on through meat or eggs. It is not known at this time if chickens can get the disease from eating slugs. However, studies done in Australia have shown that parrots can contract the disease.
Kenney, you're right about the other link. The map doesn't show Kaloli Pt. I have a friend who got rat lungworm disease last year and lives on Kaloli Pt. She almost died. It took awhile before she was diagnosed and she had other health issues. She still suffers today from complications...dizziness, losing her footing and falling as a result. They think it happened from eating at a restaurant. Another person on Kaloli Pt got rat lung worm disease sev yrs ago. He had eaten a veggie straight from his garden. Both individuals' health is fragile now and seems permanent.
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From the researcher I know that works with the UH lab, It is probably best to now treat ALL slugs/snails of Hawaii as infected, not just Puna...as even Freshwater opihi have been tested positive to infection ... Was at a meeting where the question of Saltwater opihi infection was raised, & the answer was the researcher was not sure, as not enough data has been collected...so...I am off opihi poke until I hear it has been tested safe!
in response to Kenney`s statement "I think it's a good idea to just assume all slugs in Puna are infected and remain vigilant."
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The Hawaii Farm Bureau has contacted their members with info from The College of Tropical Agriculture about rat lungworm. This should provide Hawaii's food producers with the latest on the disease and ways to keep it from entering our food supply. Lots of good information for homeowners as well:
http://hfbf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/...cument.pdf
On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation
“We do this thing not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.”
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I never eat raw greens prepared by someone else, even friends. I lug city water to wash my vegetables. Have been doing this since Silka got sick.
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Good point Gypsy. I also believe that washing food with questionable tank water is risky. Since we don't have a water purification system, we use bleach in the tank and bottled water from the machines for washing produce and anything else we eat. .30 $/gal.
I've been wondering what happens when someone is "slightly" infected with RLW, maybe doesn't even know they have it, and recovers. Does the immune system kill the worms or are they lurking? Maybe one of the Great Minds on PW knows?
It sure would be helpful if Dr. Jarvi could get some good funding for more research.
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I saw a young woman on the 10:00 news last night who apparently got RLW from "eating lettuce in Hilo." It did not say where she got this lettuce - restaurant, farmer's market, friend's? (She was visiting from Seattle I believe) She was in the hospital.
Anyone aware of this story and the source of the lettuce?
The main point of the piece was that she wanted the state to know that she had no idea about the risks, that there is no signage, no handouts, etc. A lady from the health dept was interviewed, showing a map with incidents of RLW, and saying that materials are being put together.
I really feel for this poor woman from Seattle.
I, too, wonder, Kenney, whether after infection and reovery, whether the worms are still lurking. Are there tests??
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materials are being put together
"Fight the Bite" all over again.
They "should" hand pamphlets to everyone who gets off a plane, but this is merely the Big Island, and there's no funding for anything.
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quote:
Originally posted by Kenney
Does the immune system kill the worms or are they lurking?
They eventually die. Whether someone fully recovers or not depends on how much damage was done during the infection.
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Anyone aware of this story and the source of the lettuce?
Tatum Larson, who believes she got rat lungworm after eating local lettuce that was purchased in Hilo.
"It moved to more of the sharp, stabbing pain that everyone talks about (after that)."
The 24-year-old moved from Maui to Seattle to receive treatment, and is hoping to raise awareness about rat lungworm.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/35348...to-do-more
On top of possibly contracting rat lungworm in Hawaii, she feels it necessary to move from Maui to Seattle in order to receive proper treatment.
Now that's scary.
On the fifth day - the scientists who studied the rivers - were forbidden to speak - or to study the rivers. -Jane Hirshfield's poem on creation
“We do this thing not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.”
