Worm that jumps from rats to slugs to human brains has invaded Southeast US

[milestogo]

Multiple rats in Atlanta test positive for calamitous, rapidly spreading parasite.

The dreaded rat lungworm—a parasite with a penchant for rats and slugs that occasionally finds itself rambling and writhing in human brains—has firmly established itself in the Southeast US and will likely continue its rapid invasion, a study published this week suggests. The study involved small-scale surveillance of dead rats in the Atlanta zoo. Between 2019 and 2022, researchers continually turned up evidence of the worm. In all, the study identified seven out of 33 collected rats (21 percent) with evidence of a rat lungworm infection. The infected animals were spread throughout the study's time frame, all in different months, with one in 2019, three in 2021, and three in 2022, indicating sustained transmission.

Although small, the study "suggests that the zoonotic parasite was introduced to and has become established in a new area of the southeastern United States," the study's authors, led by researchers at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, concluded. The study was published Wednesday in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The finding is concerning given the calamitous infection the rat lungworm, aka Angiostrongylus cantonensis, can cause in humans. The parasitic nematodes are, as their name suggests, typically found in rats. But they have a complicated life cycle, which can be deadly when disrupted.

Normally, adult worms live in the arteries around a rat's lungs—hence rat lungworm. There, they mate and lay eggs. The worm's larvae then burst out of the lungs, get coughed up by the rat, and are swallowed and eventually pooped out. From there, the larvae are picked up by slugs or snails. This can happen if the gastropods eat the rat poop or if the ravenous larvae just bore into their soft bodies. The larvae then develop in the slugs and snails, which, ideally, are eventually eaten by rats. Back in a rat, the late-stage larvae penetrate the intestines, enter the bloodstream, and migrate to the rat's central nervous system and brain. There they mature into sub-adults then migrate to the lungs, where they become full adults and mate, thus completing the cycle.

Humans become accidental hosts in various ways. They may eat undercooked snails or inadvertently eat an infected slug or snail hiding in their unwashed salad. Infected snails and slugs can also be eaten by other animals first, like frogs, prawns, shrimp, or freshwater crabs. If humans then eat those animals before fully cooking them, they can become infected.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/09/worm-that-jumps-from-rats-to-slugs-to-human-brains-has-invaded-southeast-us/

Scientific article: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/10/23-0706_article

[marble falls]

1. Jeebus. Just one more thing after another.

[Rebl2]

8. Was my exact thought

[Delphinus]

11. Mine too!

Although it was the full throated, sick to my stomach, jeezus keerist.

It makes me very happy that I am a vegetarian; will have to look more closely at the veggies while prepping.

Nature is amazing - I know this, and am in awe, but I get reminded when reading things like this.

[Martin68]

15. There are myriad ways to get infected by parasites. I got a tapeworm as a high school student living

in Bogota from eating a medium rare hamburger mixed with ground pork. Fifteen feet long when it was treated and removed!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

21. Excuse me, but....

That is spooky as shite.

What were your symptoms? And how long after your meal? And what became of your invader?

[Martin68]

22. Headaches and loss of weight due to the parasite feeding off the nutrients coming down my intestine.

It was stealing the food I ate from within where its head was attached to the inner lining of my intestine. I don't know how long after the meal. It must have been many months before I was aware something was wrong. Eventually the segments on the worm's body began to break off the end of the chain of segments attached to the head when they are "ripe" and wriggle out the anus to spread its eggs. Very creepy, and uncomfortable (but no pain involved). A doctor instructed me to fast for two days, and then I took a medicine that killed it. It was expelled as a bowel movement.

Pills containing eggs from tapeworms were sold in pharmacy in the US as a weight loss medicine back before laws were passed regulating medicine sales. It worked! Medicines were also legally sold over the counter that contained morphine and cocaine in those days.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

23. tapeworms and leeches.

Not all in the past.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/leeches-still-used-modern-medicine

[Martin68]

24. I've only had a leech stuck to me once. Often saw them swimming in the water in Ontario when I was

on canoe trips, but once I found one stuck to my ankle after we'd set up camp. We had spent some time in the water because we were traveling up a steam, and the water was unusually low so we had to get into the water and pull up the heavily loaded canoes. It was a big black one. I was told to sprinkle some salt on the critter, and it soon dried up and fell off. No side effects except for an itch on the attachment site. The saliva of leeches has anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant and antimicrobial effects, and many observers believe an anesthetic component as well. While some disagree with that point, I felt nothing from the attachment and only found it because I saw it.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. unwashed salad.

add 10 minutes prep time to the salad bowl

[PurgedVoter]

3. Come on, I knew Georgia had brain worms when I visited Stone Mountain years ago.

It doesn't really take much to figure that there is an epidemic of them. Just look at Florida, if ever there was a case for suspecting a brain worm takeover, it would be Florida, but Georgia definitely shows the symptoms.

[chicoescuela]

4. This is what my thoughts were too

[Delphinus]

12. Haha!

[ChazInAz]

14. One third of the rat population in the zoo.

Makes me reflect on the Lower Third of our population's intellectual Bell Curve.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. This does not explain the MAGAt infestation of the South.

[getagrip_already]

6. Well that explains desantis.......

And most of florida Republicans.

[Shermann]

7. Crap I had undercooked snails on toast for breakfast this morning!

Last night I snacked on some infected slugs on crackers, too.

[marble falls]

9. I just plain forgot to cook mine.

[erronis]

10. Yup - especially good as a spread with garlic butter on top.

And don't forget the greasy grimy gophers' guts.

[calimary]

13. LOL!

[ggma]

20. Childhood Song...

Nobody likes me
Everybody hates me
I'm gonna eat a worm
😁

gg

[not a texan]

16. Parts of Big Island have been dealing with this

This is dangerous. I don't think you need to eat the snail itself, just food the snail or slung has crawled on. It can be in the snail trail. I try to know where my produce comes from, some areas of the island do not have this yet, buy food from safe areas. Wash all produce including fruit feeling for anything slippery. If you feel something slippery throw the food away even if you do not find a snail or slug.

This is a horrible thing to catch and nothing to joke about. Some people with the disease choose to end their lives rather than put up with the pain and suffering.

[milestogo]

18. Agreed.

I hope restaurants are aware of this issue.

[pecosbob]

17. This finally explains Florida Man

[HappyLarge]

19. We've had this in Hawaii for a long while

It’s pretty gnarly for those affected. Wash your fruits and veggies people.

[lastlib]

25. tRump is contagious?

Damn.

Nasty-sounding description.