'Killer' parasitic worm harbored in rats has invaded the southeast

A parasitic worm known to cause a potentially fatal brain infection when it passes from rats to humans has taken hold in the southeastern US.

Researchers from Georgia, , and confirmed that dead rats found at an Atlanta zoo had been infected with parasitic , or lungworm, at least as early as 2019.

Lungworm is typically native to and the Pacific Islands but has been steadily migrating to the West thanks to international travel, global trade, and a changing climate that makes new locations more livable.

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