The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Friday that the department said in a statement that the East Hawaii child was transported to Oahu for treatment. The infant is the second child from East Hawaii to contract the disease in 2018. The first was diagnosed in early November. Rat lungworm disease, also known as angiostrongyliasis, is caused by a parasitic roundworm and can affect a person’s brain and spinal cord. Larvae can be passed to humans who ingest raw freshwater shrimp, land crabs and snails or raw produce that contains infected slugs or snails and their slime. ___ Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
Big Island infant diagnosed with brain parasite.