Hawaii Warns Tourists Of Parasitic Worm That Can Burrow Into Human Brains

Hawaii is the favorite destination of numerous people, and if you are among them, you should know that the Health Department of the state has released warnings about a parasitic worm capable of infecting humans and affecting the brain and spinal cord.

Namely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there have been three brand new cases of United States mainland adults infected with this brain worm while visiting Hawaii Island.

The cases were entirely unrelated, became infected at different times, and lived in different places.
These cases add up to the state’s case total to 5 infections in 2019 and 10 infections in 2018. Officials report that this new eruption in parasitic worm infections is caused by a boom in the population of semi-slugs, a carrier of the worm.

According to the statement of the Health Department, even though it is not clear how these people were infected in Hawaii, one of them recalls eating several homemade salads while in Hawaii.
On the other hand, the other remembers eating unwashed raw fruits, vegetables, and other plants straight from the land.

In all of the Hawaii cases, the particular parasite was the rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), which usually lives inside the lungs of rats. Females lay eggs there and then young worms leave their nest soon and seek for a new home.

The larvae get trapped in the rat’s airway and are then swallowed and passed through their digestive system.

Therefore, snails, slugs, and other feces-eating bugs are intermediate hosts until new rodents eat them. Prepubescent parasites live in the rat’s brain until they’re mature enough to resettle and reproduce in the lungs.

While some people infected with this parasite don’t have any symptoms, others can develop a rare form of meningitis called eosinophilic meningitis.

The symptoms of this condition include severe headache, stiff neck, low-grade fever, tingling or pain, and vomiting. The Hawaii Department of Health reports that symptoms usually start one to three weeks after exposure to the parasite.

The State of Hawaii Department of Health warns that one gets infected by eating food contaminated by the larval stage of A. cantonensis worms, found in raw or undercooked snails or slugs. Sometimes raw produce can contain a small infected snail or slug, or part of one.

Diagnosing this infection is difficult, as it might not cause any symptoms, and blood tests won’t identify the parasite. Typically, patients infected with the worm are left to manage their symptoms until it dies on its own.

However, do not let this news scare you away, as this does not mean that you should remove Hawaii from your top destination list. You should just be cautious instead.

Therefore, if you are visiting Hawaii soon, avoid eating snails and slugs, wash all the produce bought in stores, especially foods like salads, and keep them in airtight containers.

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Source: www.livescience.com

Asthma Subgroups: The 4 Types of Airway Inflammation

It is now understood that all asthmatics have some degree of chronic (it’s always there) underlying airway inflammation. While it was once thought to be all the same, researchers now understand there are 4 types of airway inflammation in asthma, each of which is now classified as a distinct asthma subgroup (which are really now called phenotypes), under which all the other subgroups fall.

Eosinophilic Inflammation

This was once thought to be the sole source of airway inflammation in asthma and is still considered to be the most prevalent. You are allergic to something, hence you have allergic or intrinsic asthma. When exposed to your asthma triggers, your immune system responds by releasing a series of chemicals into your bloodstream.
These chemicals are called the mediators of inflammation, mainly because they are responsible for airway inflammation either directly or indirectly. Histamine and Leukotrienes are examples of mediators that directly cause inflammation. Interleukin 5 (IL5) is an example of a mediator that indirectly causes inflammation. It travels through the bloodstream and recruits white blood cells called eosinophils.
Eosinophils are granulocytes, meaning they contain granules. These granules include many mediators of inflammation. They, in effect, enhance the inflammatory response, or make chronic underlying inflammation worse, resulting in asthma symptoms (asthma attacks).
In most cases, this response is only temporary, as eosinophil levels go back down to normal or near normal levels once you remove yourself from your asthma triggers. (allergic asthma or EIA).
In some rare instances, eosinophil levels remain chronically elevated resulting in severe asthma (eosinophilic asthma or Churg-Strauss Syndrome). Sometimes it is triggered by a specific allergen called Aspirin or similar non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, also resulting in severe asthma (AERD). Sometimes is it triggered by a mold (Aspergillosis).
Corticosteroids have been shown to reduce eosinophil levels, resulting in improved asthma control. Low to moderate doses of inhaled steroids usually work well for controlling allergic asthma and EIA. Eosinophilic, AERD, Churg-Strauss and Aspergillosis require the highest doses of inhaled steroids and occasional boosts of systemic steroids to obtain minimal control.
About 25% of untreated asthmatics and up to 50% of treated asthmatics have non-eosinophilic asthma. This is why it’s important for researchers, and physicians, to be aware of the following types of airway inflammation.

Neutrophilic Inflammation

The quest to better understand severe asthma lead to the discovery that some asthmatics have elevated neutrophil levels in their airways (neutrophilic asthma). Those with this type of inflammatory response are usually non-allergic, and so they are described as having intrinsic asthma. Their asthma triggers generally include particulates in the air, pollutants, viruses and bacteria (infection induced asthma). 
Exposure to these asthma triggers trigger the release of mediators, the most significant of which is Interleukin 8 (IL8), which travels through the bloodstream and recruits neutrophils.
Neutrophils, like eosinophils, are granulocytes. Once they arrive in the airways, they release their contents (degranulate), which include many mediators of inflammation. They, like eosinophils, enhance the inflammatory effect, resulting in asthma symptoms. Since neutrophil levels are chronically elevated, asthma symptoms persist, resulting in some degree of shortness of breath even on good asthma days.
To make matters worse, neutrophils respond poorly, and sometimes not at all, to corticosteroids. This means that the highest doses of corticosteroids, and sometimes non-traditional asthma medicines (like COPD medicines) are needed to obtain minimal asthma control.
This subgroup of asthma is not as well understood as eosinophilic asthma. Smoking may cause it (asthma/ COPD overlap syndrome), chemicals in the air at your work may cause it (occupational asthma), and something unknown may cause it.

Mixed Neutrophilia and Eosinophilia Inflammation

This is the worse kind of asthma and is associated with refractory asthma (asthma not responsive to anything). One study found that they have the lowest lung function of all the asthma subgroups. They also had the highest frequency of daily wheezing and the highest healthcare utilization. They require frequent doctor visits, and an assortment of topline (corticosteroids, bronchodilators) and alternative (such as COPD medicines) to obtain even minimal asthma control.

Paucigranulocytic Inflammation

Pauci means few. So, paucigranulocytic means few granulocytes. This is an unusual (and newly defined) subgroup of asthma associated with normal or near normal levels of eosinophils and neutrophils. It may also be called non-inflammatory asthma.
Like neutrophilic asthma, this subgroup is not well understood. It is possible that there is some degree of eosinophilia, in which case corticosteroids may prove useful. Otherwise, typical and atypical asthma medicines may be indicated to obtain any degree of asthma control.
A shift in the way asthma is phenotyped. Here you have four new asthma subgroups (phenotypes) based on the types of inflammatory cells, or lack of them, in asthmatic airways. This is a more specific form of phenotyping and is often referred to as cellular phenotyping. It is much more specific than traditional phenotyping, which is based on characteristics observed by physicians in the clinical setting (hence, allergic asthma, extrinsic asthma, EIA, occupational asthma, etc..



this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.  
 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
  htps://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes  
 https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement