Much Needed Research

Up to this point the funding has been little and slow in coming. Much of the research done by Dr. Susan Jarvi and Kaye Howe was done with small grants and at times out of their own pockets. This disease is a growing threat to the people of Hawaii and is starting to take hold on the mainland where there is less diagnostic and preventative information available to healthcare professionals or the general public. There is no means at this time of accepting donations, but it is Kaye and Rebekah's hope that sufficient funding will be forthcoming.

If you would like to make a donation to Dr. Jarvi's work you can contact Dr. Susan Jarvi at jarvi@hawaii.edu and ask her how to best make a contribution. Her lab has done the most comprehensive research and are an extremely important asset in understanding this disease.

Rat Lungworm Working Group

The protocol at Hilo Medical Center has now improved for victims presenting with symptoms of RLWD thanks to the hardwork and determination of Kaye Howe and Dr. Susan Jarvi. They have reached out and brought their knowledge and compassion to other sufferers of this disease and have worked tirelessly to educate the Hawaiian legislature on the need for funding for research and treatment on the Hawaiian Islands. Along with Dr.Susan Jarvi, a disease specialist at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Kaye helps run the Rat Lungworm Working Group, a volunteer organization that they founded. For years, on a shoestring budget, the group has performed research on the illness and dispensed advice to patients, filling what Howe and Jarvi see as a gap in the government's response. Funding for their work has died four times in the state legislature.

Private donations can be made to the University of Hawaii Foundation revolving account for project #0002878. Checks can be made payable to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii (RCUH).

Financial Management Office
1406 Lower Campus Road, Room #41
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
Phone: (808) 956-7161
FAX: (808) 956-9497