Giant African snails, Heʻeia, Oʻahu; nearly 30% infected in the recent study. (Photo credit: Randi Rollins) Different species of snails in Hawaiʻi host variable amounts of infectious rat lungworm, the nematode (roundworm) known scientifically as Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which causes rat lungworm disease. A recent study, led by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa zoology graduate student, revealed that environmental factors, such as rainfall, temperature and the extent of green vegetation, influence rat lungworm infection in snails. In an effort to advance research and treatments for rat lungworm disease, researchers from UH Mānoa formed the Mānoa Angiostrongylus Research Group, led by