Sophia Jalilvand: Newlyweds contract rare brain parasite during Hawaiian honeymoon

Summary:  Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii and isless developed than most other regions of the state. Newlyweds Ben Manilla, 64, and Eliza Lape, 57, have had a horrible two-week honeymoon. Due to contracting rat lungworm disease, Manilla has "had several operations, two pneumonias, a blood clot; right now, [he is] dealing with a kidney issue." It is a parasitic disease caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis and affects the brain and the spinal cord. It is common in Southeast Asian and tropical Pacific islands, but it has been spreading to Africa, Latin America and the United States. It is thought to be transferred through raw or undercooked snails and slugs that are infected with the parasite (e.g. poorly washed lettuce with an unnoticed snail or slug in it).

Analysis: This is quite frightening and I believe this may be a cause of global warming that the geographical ranges of parasites are continuing to increase. It could also be caused by increasing globalization and the introduction of invasive species to foreign ecosystems by plane, boat, etc. The disease seems awful since Lape said that it felt "like somebody was taking a hot knife and just stabbing me in different parts of [her] body." In 2017, there have apparently been a total of nine cases of rat lungworm disease, but hopefully the number does not increase.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/health/rat-lungworm-honeymoon-hawaii-trnd/index.html