Prevent Rat Lungworm

                             Rat Lungworm Educational Flyer

We live in Hawaii,  where we are blessed to be able to grow our own fresh produce year-round.  But there is a deadly parasite called Rat Lungworm whose tiny larvae (less than 0.5mm) are sometimes hidden on our fruits and  veggies.   If ingested, the worms (nematodes)  migrate to the central nervous system and brain where they can cause excrutiating pain, neurological damage and even death. This is a very serious disease that is found globally in places with warm climates, including Hawai`i. 

A dear friend of mine recently contracted this disease. She is in a lot of pain and has lost so much weight that she is unable to breast feed or hold her 3-month old son.  I have started this campaign because of her and also because I don't want to see another person get this awful disease. 

Our community needs more in-depth information on the basic biology of this disease and on how to prevent contracting it through proper food sanitation, safe use of catchment water and best practices for pest (vector) control.  All money raised will be used to print educational flyers covering the above topics and will be distributed at local grocery stores and farmers markets.

This effort is being supervised by Dr. Sue Jarvi,  the leading Rat Lungworm researcher at UH Hilo: http://pharmacy.uhh.hawaii.edu/cop/psc/jarvi.php 

We aim to have raised the necessary funds by the end of May 2016.

Please support this campaign to help educate our community so that we all stay healthy! 

Thank you very much! 

Below is an informative interview with  Rat Lungworm survivors and researchers:

https://youtu.be/r88WNCxAjQ8

Click the link below to sign a petition  demanding more state and federal support for Rat Lungworm research and education:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/529/190/532/demand-action-to-stop-rat-lungworm-disease-in-hawaii-now/