Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 5, 1 Mei 2017 — Help prevent rat lungworm disease [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Help prevent rat lungworm disease

How rat lungworm infection gets transferred to people o

An uptick in rat lungworm cases on Maui and Hawai'i Island is raising eoneem across the pae 'āina. At present, there is no cure and few treatment options for the debilitating disease, whieh attacks the brain and spinal cord and ean cause excruciating pain. In Hawai'i, loeal greens and homemade 'awa have been contaminated, most likely by slugs or snails. The University of Hawai'i offers advice on how to prevent it: > CHECK YOUR PRODUCE: Most people contract the disease by eating unwashed vegetables and fruit, so make sure to visually inspect all produce before you eat it and toss anything that shows signs of slug slime, feces or feeding. Thoroughly wash the rest with potable water. The larvae ean be inactivated by freezing for 12-24 hours or boiling for 2-3 minutes. > VECTOR CONTROL: In Hawai'i, loeal greens and homemade 'awa have been contaminated by slugs or snails. The disease generally passes fromrodents (rats) to mollusks (slugs and snails). Trap rodents

in snap and live traps or poison them. Set up organic or commercial slug baits and collect the slugs with designated tongs or chopsticks. Don't smash the slugs; instead dispose of them in a 'slug jug,' a wide mouthed container partially filled with salt-water ( 1 1/8 cups of salt to 1/2 gallon of water). > SAFE GARDENING: Inspecting your garden at night makes it easy to assess the slug population and piek off those you see for disposal in a slug jug (see above). When the jug is full, it ean be emptied in a rocky area or used to clear weeds. > WATER CATCHMENT SAFETY: Make sure all catchment water is filtered. If an infected slug gets into your water tank and drowns, rat lungworm larvae ean survive in the water for several weeks and enter your body through your eyes and cuts when you shower. More information is available at https:// manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/farmfoodsafety/ rat-lungworm. ■ - Ka Wai Ola Staff