Physical Wellness

Rare Parasitic Infection Affects Honeymoon Couple In Hawaii; Experts Blame Climate Change

By Silvia Gold | Update Date: Apr 21, 2017 10:52 AM EDT

A rare parasitic infection is causing a lot of health problems and making the headlines, as recently it affected a couple honeymooning in Hawaii. According to experts, climate change should be blamed for these incidents. 

Couple Catches Rare Parasitic Infection In Maui

Maui is the second largest island in Hawaii. It is mostly a tourist place but less developed, as compared to the rest of the Pacific Island state. Recently, Ben Manilla and Eliza Lape, a newlywed couple visited this place for their honeymoon and suffered from the infection.

According to Manilla, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley he had several operations: a blood clot, two bouts of pneumonia, and even now dealing with a kidney issue, reports Science World Report. News indicated that all these health problems were triggered off by a rare parasitic infection or disease caused by a rat lungworm.

Manilla contracted this infection during his honeymoon stay on the Hawaiian Island. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that it is a parasite that affects the spinal cord, as well as the brain and is mostly found in the tropical islands of Pacific Isles and Southeast Asia. The rare parasitic infection has now slowly spread across other areas of Latin America, Africa, and the United States.

A person is infected by this rare parasitic infection by consuming undercooked or raw infected slugs and snails. Even poorly washed lettuce, infected shrimps, frogs, and crabs can make a person contract this infection. Although, eight out of nine patients suffering from this problem had to be hospitalized, there have been no reports of death.

Climate Change Is Causing Growth In Rare Parasitic Infection

According to Science World Report, experts have blamed climate change and globalization as the main cause behind the spread of this infection. It is very difficult to detect this infection in its early stages because its symptoms are almost similar to other common infections.

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