A woman who had just returned from a dream vacation ended up with a nightmare condition.
The New England native, 30, had just spent three weeks traveling around Thailand, Japan and Hawaii, where she swam in the ocean and frequently dined on salads and sushi.
When she returned home, she noticed that she felt a little fatigued, which she initially simply blamed on jet lag.
She had just been traveling through Thailand, Japan and Hawaii. MNStudio – stock.adobe.com
But then her symptoms got worse, and she began experiencing a burning sensation in her feet that traveled up through her legs.
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She was hospitalized, but her test results seemed to indicate that she was fine — until she had to go back to the emergency room because the burning sensation had migrated to her arms and was now accompanied by a severe headache.
She was ultimately treated at Massachusetts General Hospital by Dr. Carlos A. Portales Castillo and became a case study in The New England Journal of Medicine.
According to Castillo, the woman’s roommate rushed her to the hospital once more after “she awoke, she thought she needed to pack for vacation and was not redirectable,” continuing to be disoriented for several hours, People reported.
The prognosis? Angiostrongyliasis — a parasitic infection caused by Angiostrongylus species, most commonly Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which is also known as “rat lungworm.”
While rats are the primary hosts of this infection, snails and slugs can act as intermediate hosts, and humans can become infected by consuming them raw or undercooked.
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Dr. Joseph Zunt, a neurologist who specializes in infectious diseases, came to this diagnosis after doctors performed a lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal fluid test, and discovered she had eosinophilic meningitis — inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.
He also connected the dots after finding out more about her behavior in Hawaii, where the infection is a known issue.
Most of the cases in Hawaii have been on the Big Island, though it’s popped up in the other major islands as well. Though there haven’t been any documented cases yet in 2025, there were eight in 2024 — seven residents and one visitor.
Infection can occur from eating raw or undercooked infected snails or slugs, fruits or veggies that have been contaminated, or an land crabs, freshwater prawns, frogs that have themselves eaten an infected snail. This patient most likely became sick while eating food that was contaminated with snail or slug slime.
The infection can be caused by consuming raw or undercooked infected snails. CDC
Symptoms of rat lungworm often start with nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain, starting hours or days after eating contaminated food, according to Hawaii’s Disease Outbreak Control Division.
Headache, fever, muscle pain, fatigue, insominia, and neurologic symptoms can develop, as can neck stiffness and pain, tingling or burning of the skin, double vision, bowel or bladder difficulties, and seizures.
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Children may experience more fever, irritability, somnolence, lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms, muscle twitching, convulsions, and extremity weakness. In addition, individuals may experience a few days to weeks of no symptoms followed by neurologic symptoms.
Because cases are often misdiagnosed or underreported, it’s difficult to determine precisely how frequently people contract this illness. However, Hawaii typically reports 10-12 cases per year, and it has occurred in other tropical regions, such as Florida and Texas.
There is no specific cure for this infection, so treatment usually focuses on pain management. In this patient’s case, she was treated with the anti-inflammatory steroid prednisone and sent home from the hospital after six days.
In January, a disturbing X-ray of a human body riddled with worms went viral after the patient contracted cysticercosis — which begins with eating undercooked pig but is passed through fecal matter.
Just another good reminder to always wash your hands!
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A non-profit focused on preserving and perpetuating Mele Hawaii has opened a cultural hub filled with pieces of Hawaiian history.
Let’s go holoholo to the Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center.
Tulutulu Mana is a curator for the Lokomaika’i Hawaii Heritage Center.
“The more I look at this space, the more I think wow, I’ve touched every single one of these pieces, which is mind-boggling,” said Mana.
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It’s like a mini museum within this 1920 plantation home; that’s right behind Lunalilo Home in Hawaii Kai.
Mana said in partnership with the King Lunalilo trust, instead of paying rent, the non-profit hosts classes three times a week and teaches kupuna about mele Hawaii and different crafts.
“A lot of our kupuna have Alzheimer’s or dementia, so getting to play music and mele Hawaii and bringing them back to their grassroots actually has stirred them up and created such life in them that the nurses have not seen,” said Mana.
The center was created by the non-profit, Hawaiian Music Perpetuation Society.
It was initially in Waikiki, but last January, they officially moved into the Lunalilo Estates.
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“And we decided that we needed to display all the artifacts that were donated to us, plus what was in the possession of some of our membership,” said Board Member Jayme Peterson. “So, we start off with doing our honor to our ali’i and their significant contributions, and then we walk them through where we came from, our cultural artifacts, our crafts, and we tell stories.”
As you tour the center, there are dozens of books, with the majority of them not in print anymore.
In addition, over 800 vinyls from across the islands, and so many stories involving Hawaiian instruments and musicians.
“Steel guitar is actually an indigenous art form, started by Joseph Kekuku, who is from Kamehameha Schools,” said Mana. “What happens was he takes a metal boat, and he runs it across the strings of a guitar, likes the sound, creates a note system, then takes this system and he tells his friends, they go out throughout the world.”
“Nashville, Tennessee, gets a hold of it, adds pedals and electronics. It is now one of their number one staples. If you go to like the Grand Ole Opry, you go to Tennessee, Nashville, they honor the Hawaiians for doing this.”
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There’s also Tau Moe, a Hawaiian Musical Group that performed around the world.
Mana said one of their stops included Germany during World War II.
“So, the boys play the steel guitar for Hitler. After that, Hitler loved it so much, he gives them the pass,” said Mana. “This pass allows them to go in and out of Germany without being stopped.”
“Our Hawaiian boys, all the way in Germany, they had actually taken out a bunch of Jews from the internment camp and saved them from the Holocaust.”
“So we would like people, our own, citizens of Hawaii, to come and learn about your heritage, as well as try to educate some of the visitors about what we Hawaiians are really about,” said Peterson.
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Tours are about one hour, and tickets are $10.
You can purchase them by clicking here.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii island police have arrested and charged 42-year-old Kawika Benny Kahee of Pahoa with firearm offenses stemming from an incident Sunday near Kehau and Mauna Kea roads in the Nanawale Estates subdivision.
At 7:34 a.m., Puna patrol officers conducting area checks on a subdivision road came upon two vehicles, including a white Toyota pickup truck with Kahee standing outside it. Kahee was placed under arrest on two outstanding bench warrants.
The other vehicle was occupied by a woman. Officers determined she had no outstanding warrants and saw no violations.
While placing Kahee under arrest, officers observed a black semiautomatic pistol on the front passenger seat of the pickup truck. Kahee was subsequently arrested on suspicion of a firearm offense. The vehicle was recovered as evidence and towed to the Hilo Police Station pending execution of a search warrant.
The investigation was continued by detectives with the East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section.
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Upon executing a search warrant on the pickup truck, detectives recovered an unloaded semiautomatic 9mm pistol with no serial number, commonly referred to as a ghost gun. Detectives also determined that Kahee is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction involving violence, according to police.
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On Monday, Kahee was charged with possessing a prohibited weapon, illegally carrying a handgun and being a felon in possession of a handgun. His bail was set at $120,000. Kahee was also charged on two outstanding bench warrants with bail totaling $15,000.
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Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Detective Joseph Picadura at 808-961-2375 or Joseph.Picadura@hawaiipolice.gov.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – For the first time, Navy Week is being held in Hawaii. From March 9 – 15, Sailors (majority based on Oahu) and also abroad Hawaii namesake vessels will be here to learn more about the culture, the people, and the communities in which the are stationed at and ultimately, serve through service projects to education by visiting local schools to share more about the Navy resources and satellites, buoys and water currents, and speaking engagements with senior ranking Navy officers to include Rear Admiral Ryan Mahelona who is the third Native Hawaiian to reach this rank, a local boy, born and raised in Kaneohe who graduated from Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama Campus.
Commander Daniel Jones, commanding officer of the USS Hawaii and Commander David Taweel will join Jonathan on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 to talk about Navy Week in Hawaii.
The Rally Point is a new show that airs every other Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on all of HNN’s platforms.
Host Jonathan Masaki, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, will focus on engaging conversations with military service members and defense department civilians and contractors on military-related issues that impact Hawaii and our community.
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Watch a recap here:Jonathan Masaki speaks to Maj. Gen. Stephen F. Logan on this inaugural episode of “The Rally Point.”
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
