Robert Cowie discusses creepy collaboration that creates rat lungworm

A nasty biological cycle involving infected snails and host rats produces rat lungworm disease, which has raised its profile this year in Hawaii with six confirmed cases on Maui and three on the Big Island.

Mollusk expert and researcher at Pacific Biosciences Research Center, Robert Cowie sat down with Civil Beat to discuss in detail the “basic biology” of the parasites — enough detail to make you squirm as snails or slugs eat rat feces and rats eat snails or slugs and so forth.

Ultimately, humans accidentally eat tiny, often transluscent baby snails attached to produce, and end up with worms in their brains and potentially a host of health problems.

But the University of Hawaii research professor also provides information to help you avoid becoming the next human victim. He talks about whether the snails’ slime also contains the worms and whether diluted solutions are any better than water for cleaning raw produce.

Video on Civil Beat.