The Rat Lungworm Support Group was created at the urging of a survivor who voiced the need for support network at a public input meeting in Pahoa in 2017. Since December 2017 the Rat Lungworm Support Group has been meeting every second Wednesday of the month at the Keaau Community Center at 16-186 Pili Mua Street from 4:00-6:00 pm. The group is primarily focused on supporting the survivors and their caregivers who are living through long term effects of rat lungworm. Also welcomed to the meetings are healthcare providers, representatives from government and academia, and advocates for supporting research and prevention efforts.
The group is supported by Hilo Medical Center, the state’s leading hospital in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy and the Department of Health. For more information, contact Elena Cabatu, Director of Public Affairs at Hilo Medical Center, at ecabatu@hhsc.org or 932-3160.
JOIN THE MEETING VIA ONLINE VIDEO CONFERENCING
Survivors and their caregivers interested in joining the group through the Zoom online meeting platform from the comfort of their home may join by clicking on the link https://ehihalawai.zoom.us/j/153765346. The session will be opened from 3:30-6:15 pm HST.
RAT LUNGWORM RESOURCES DASHBOARD
Organizations
- Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy
- Read the December 2018 preprint version of “Water transmission potential of Angiostrongylus cantonensis: larval viability and effectiveness of rainwater catchment sediment filters” by Kathleen Howe, Lisa Kaluna, Bruce Torres Fisher, Yaeko Tagami, Robert McHugh, and Susan Jarvi. NOTE: This paper has not been through peer review yet, but is available for the public to read and comment on.
- Hawaii State Department of Health
- Read the August 2018 report by the Clinical Subcommittee of the Hawaii Governor’s Joint Task Force on Rat Lungworm Disease, “Preliminary Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Neuroangiostrongyliasis (Rat Lungworm Disease) in Hawaii.”
- Centers for Disease Control
- Hawaii State Department of Agriculture
- CTAHR Farm Food Safety on Rat Lungworm
- Hawaii Island School Garden Projects Take on Rat Lungworm Disease with Integrated Pest Management by Kay Howe
Social Media Groups
- Rat Lungworm Awareness Facebook Page
- Voice of Victims (Specifically for Survivors of Rat Lungworm)
Media Coverage
- BigIslandNow.com: “Another Big Island Infant Catches Rat Lungworm Disease”
- Emergency Management News: “Hawaii accused of downplaying parasite that struck SF couple”
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “Hawaii rat lungworm task force creates new guidelines for faster diagnosis”
-
Insights on PBS Hawai`i: “Rat Lungworm – What You Need to Know. What You Need to Do.”
- NBC News: “Rat lungworm may be more common in U.S. than people think, CDC says”
- USA Today: “Parasite called rat lungworm may be more common across the USA than people think, CDC says”
- The New Yorker: “Rat Lungworm, the Tropical Parasite That Took Hawaii by Surprise”