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One of our State Senators was quoted in the West Hawaii Today: "Rat lungworm has sickened 100 and killed probably 20". Hawaii News Now says that the Big Island is the epicenter of rat lungworm in the United States.
This is from the Malama O Puna website: There are reports of people who years after having had rat lung cannot wear shirts or long pants because their skin is still so sensitive. There are victims who take daily doses of morphine to help them endure the nerve pain they still experience 2 and 3 years later. The inability to urinate, called Elsberg Syndrome, has been reported in other cases of rat lungworm. Rat lung victims may also experience hallucinations, disorientation, vision problems and visual impairment. Complete paralysis may set in. Short-term memory loss seems to be common in serious cases.
People are cautioned to not eat any raw produce unless they know that it's been properly washed (or peeled).
One of our State Senators was quoted in the West Hawaii Today: "Rat lungworm has sickened 100 and killed probably 20". Hawaii News Now says that the Big Island is the epicenter of rat lungworm in the United States.
This is from the Malama O Puna website: There are reports of people who years after having had rat lung cannot wear shirts or long pants because their skin is still so sensitive. There are victims who take daily doses of morphine to help them endure the nerve pain they still experience 2 and 3 years later. The inability to urinate, called Elsberg Syndrome, has been reported in other cases of rat lungworm. Rat lung victims may also experience hallucinations, disorientation, vision problems and visual impairment. Complete paralysis may set in. Short-term memory loss seems to be common in serious cases.
People are cautioned to not eat any raw produce unless they know that it's been properly washed (or peeled).
Killed "probably" 20? LOL. Didn't anyone teach you to take political rhetoric with a grain of salt?
The State of Hawai‘i Department of Health reported 35 documented cases of RLWD in Hawai‘i in a 10-year period - with ONE death. And many of those 35 cases were the same person contracting the disease 2 or 3 times over several years. You are more likely to be BOTH struck by lightning AND be killed by a gunshot wound inside that same 10 year period than even contract RLWD. It is an extremely rare disease that very rarely results in death.
Further, the majority of victims of RLWD don't even know how they were infected; researchers are equally clueless. RLWD could equally originate from water catchment systems or from consuming washed vegetables... or from inadvertently eating a raw slug or semi-slug (yes it happens, but it is very rare). We simply don't know how most people are infected. So there is basically no real practical precautions one could take to protect themselves from RLWD other than not picking up and eating raw slugs, snails and flatworms. (DUH). Some studies have even shown that washing vegetables and fruits (which is always recommended to reduce the risk of Salmonella, E. Coli, etc) may be mostly or ENTIRELY ineffective at removing RWLD larvae (even using vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to immobilize it is a complete waste of time).
I'm not downplaying this potentially horrible disease... I'm simply putting things into perspective. No sense fear mongering if there is little to nothing people can do to prevent contracting the disease. If anything, new rules and regulations should be put in place for the agricultural industry to address trapping and baiting slugs and snails. Since washing is ineffective, you need to keep the slimy buggers OFF THE PRODUCE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
And to respond to your earlier post... even townies like myself visit the beautiful Koolaus on a weekly basis. We're not all trapped in the concrete jungle. That's the nice part about living on Oahu - we have options.
i will not be "commuting" as i dont have to work at HI. I will be keeping the job I have over here in Estonia. I dont know whether I will be bothered to be doing much work though, when in HI. Ideally, I'd like to travel Oahu all the way through and be thorough, as in google street view thorough, lol. I dont know, I just like to drive and I think there will be some VERY nice scenery to admire over there. Since I already have Toyota Land Cruiser 100 lined up and bought, I can also go where 90% of the vehicles cannot. Eventually I'd like to also go check out Maui and BI. Possibly even the smaller islands. I will be living in Ewa Beach a stone's throw from the ocean, I dont know whether that means its close to the planes or not? I will be getting myself an apartment in downtown Honolulu eventually, I'm just searching one that has 2 parking places or where i can buy an extra parking space or something. I want to have two cars, ideally. Heat doesnt bother me much, I will be in an AC'd house/apartment or a car with an AC most of the time. When I'm out, I will just enjoy the tropical heat. Since I'm more of a night person, I dont think heat will be much of an issue for me.
Or, the dreaded, often overlooked, always fatal if not treated promptly, (according to the 'hidden' message in the TV ads), TOENAIL FUNGUS!!!!!!!!!!
RUN AND HIDE!!!!!!! (your manamana wawae)
I won't mention the killer opihi. Quiet, stealthy, deadly, they stalk the rocky ocean shores, searching for their next hapless victim..... Just when you thought it was,,,, uuuuurrrrrppppp, scuze me, safe
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