![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/small-rat-seeking-food-sources-846178206.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA PARASITIC worm that jumps from rats to slugs to human brains has invaded the US, researchers warn.<\/p>\n
Rat lungworm was spotted in a fifth of rats at an Atlanta zoo between 2019 and 2022.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The bug can cause severe stomach and nerve issues in humans, including nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, and headaches.<\/p>\n
The infections in Atlanta suggest there is sustained transmission in the area, experts said.<\/p>\n
Dr Nicole Gottdenker, of the University of Georgia, said: \u201cThe zoonotic parasite was introduced to and has become established in a new area of the southeastern United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rat lungworm normally lives in the blood vessels around a rat\u2019s lungs, where it lays eggs.<\/p>\n
The larvae bursts out of the lungs, is coughed up by the rat, then swallowed back down and passed as poo, before being eaten by slugs or snails.<\/p>\n Rats then eat the snails, allowing the process to start again.<\/p>\n However, humans can accidentally become infected if they eat undercooked snails or shellfish that are carrying the worms.<\/p>\n In humans, the bug heads straight for the spinal cord and brain.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Illness usually lasts between two weeks and two months but can be longer, and appears similar to bacterial meningitis.<\/p>\n Serious complications can occur, leading to nerve damage, paralysis, coma or death in rare cases.<\/p>\n Cases have been spotted in Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama before, but have not been sustained.<\/p>\n The latest study, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, was the first to reveal the parasite in Atlanta\u2019s rats.<\/p>\n Researchers took tissue samples from 33 wild brown rats caught on the zoo grounds.<\/p>\n They found infection in seven rats: one in 2019, three in 2021, and three in 2022.<\/p>\n Researchers warned doctors to be on the lookout for lungworm infections if patients appear to have meningitis.<\/p>\n Dr Gottdenker said: \u201cUnderstanding patterns of A. cantonensis lungworm in North America is critical to mitigating risk to humans.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMedical and veterinary professionals throughout the southern US should consider A. cantonensis infection in differential diagnoses.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/sits-leaf-costa-rica-580935925-1.jpg\")
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