Saturday, January 24, 2009

ALERT: Rat Lungworm

Rat lungworm, a parasite, causes angiostrongyliasis, a rare form a meningitis that has no treatment. It has been in the news lately because several people on Hawai'i Island have been stricken with severe symptoms after eating raw vegetables from their backyard gardens.

How do you avoid getting sick? Wash raw produce thoroughly; cooking thoroughly also destroys the parasite.

Read all the facts in the official press release from the Hawaii Department of Health in a pdf -- click here. For more info from the Center for Disease Control, click here.

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