How Swallowing a Slug Left a Teen Paralyzed
By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer | March 7, 2018 02:52pm ET
Accepting a simple dare — eat a garden slug — had devastating consequences for one teenage rugby player in Australia, according to news reports: When the teen swallowed the slug, it led to a parasitic infection that caused a serious brain disease, leaving the teen paralyzed from the neck down.
Sam Ballard was 19 years old in 2010 when he swallowed the slug, which was carrying the roundworm parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, commonly known as the rat lungworm, according to Australian news site News.com.au. As adults, these parasites typically infect rats, but during the earlier stages of their life cycle, they may be carried by slugs and snails that eat rat feces — and they can infect people who consume infected snails or slugs that are undercooked.
https://www.livescience.com/61957-teen-paralyzed-after-eating-slug.html
