In 2010, a nineteen year old Australian man named Sam Ballard spent an evening drinking with his friends in the back garden, when a slug came to their attention.
Being young and dumb and a bit inebriated, one of them suggested, as a dare, that Sam swallow the slug, which he did.
Some time later Sam started to complain of aches and pains and informed his parents of his foolhardy act, which they dismissed as irrelevant.
The sad truth is that the slug was carrying Rat Lungworm disease, a parasite called Angiostronjilus. Deposited in the faeces of an infected rat the slug picked it up and finally passed to the unfortunate man.
The parasite worked its way through its hostβs system, finding its way to the brain and causing an inflammation that induced a coma lasting over 400 days. On waking, he was completely paralyzed and was reliant on round-the-clock care in order to function. He finally succumbed to his condition and passed away in 2018.
