19-year-old Sam Ballard, a young Australian rugby player, became paralyzed after swallowing a slug. The garden slug was the object of a stupid bet among friends. She was a carrier of a serious infection.
Unfortunately, this mundane garden slug contained a pest called Angiostrongylus cantonensis, whose usual host is the rat. Slugs become infected by ingesting rodent droppings.
Most often, people infected with the parasite do not have a problem. Exceptionally, an infected person can contract meningoencephalitis, a serious infection that affects the meninges, but also the brain. This is the case with Sam, who fell into a coma and it lasted 420 days.
Irreversible quadriplegia
When he wakes up, the young man is quadriplegic, the neurological sequelae linked to brain damage are irreversible… He spends 3 years in hospital, his treatment is financed by the national invalidity insurance scheme, NDIS, to the tune of 492 $ 000 (approximately € 397,216). Today, the young man is 28 years old and is totally dependent: he must be fed by gastric tube, he has epileptic seizures, his body temperature is completely deregulated and he remains paralyzed in a wheelchair … the diet Insurance decided last September to reduce Sam’s allowance to $ 135,000 (approximately € 108,973).
Health CAMPaM Rugby player who swallowed garden slug as dare fights Australia government over health bills – In 2010 at a friend’s party, strapping 19-year-old rugby player Sam Ballard swallowed a garden slug as a dare – and his life took a devastati. .. https://t.co/GRn4C7pu1j
– CAMPaM Ministry (@campamministry) March 7, 2018
Since the relatives of Sam try to organize themselves to obtain support.
The parasite in question: Angiostrongylus cantonensis
Ingestion of the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis in humans can exceptionally cause meningoencephalitis with paralysis of the cranial nerves. Incubation lasts 2-3 weeks.
There is no treatment, the outcome is usually favorable within a few weeks. This parasite is transmitted by the digestive tract, it is a “zoonosis” whose reservoir is constituted by crustaceans, snails, slugs.
Rats harbor a form of the parasite which is normally non-infesting to humans. The latter can be contaminated via contaminated food or water, by ingestion of parasitized snails, slugs or crustaceans, as well as by plants (salad).
The cases are generally localized in Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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