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Acta Tropica Jan 2015Over 20 species of Angiostrongylus have been described from around the world, but only Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been confirmed to cause central nervous system... (Review)
Review
Over 20 species of Angiostrongylus have been described from around the world, but only Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been confirmed to cause central nervous system disease in humans. A neurotropic parasite that matures in the pulmonary arteries of rats, A. cantonensis is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in southern Asia and the Pacific and Caribbean islands. The parasite can also cause encephalitis/encephalomyelitis and rarely ocular angiostrongyliasis. The present paper reviews the life cycle, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and prognosis of A. cantonesis infection. Emphasis is given on the spectrum of central nervous system manifestations and disease pathogenesis.
Topics: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Asia; Encephalomyelitis; Eosinophilia; Humans; Infectious Encephalitis; Larva; Life Cycle Stages; Meningitis; Strongylida Infections
PubMed: 25312338
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.10.002 -
International Journal of Infectious... 1999In the past 50 years, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis, has spread from Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, Africa, India,... (Review)
Review
In the past 50 years, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis, has spread from Southeast Asia to the South Pacific, Africa, India, the Caribbean, and recently, to Australia and North America, mainly carried by cargo ship rats. Humans are accidental, "dead-end" hosts infected by eating larvae from snails, slugs, or contaminated, uncooked vegetables. These larvae migrate to the brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots, causing eosinophilia in both spinal fluid and peripheral blood. Infected patients present with severe headache, vomiting, paresthesias, weakness, and occasionally visual disturbances and extraocular muscular paralysis. Most patients have a full recovery; however, heavy infections can lead to chronic, disabling disease and even death. There is no proven treatment for this disease. In the authors' experience, corticosteroids have been helpful in severe cases to relieve intracranial pressure as well as neurologic symptoms due to inflammatory responses to migrating and eventually dying worms.
Topics: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Diagnosis, Differential; Eosinophilia; Humans; Meningitis; Strongylida Infections
PubMed: 10460929
DOI: 10.1016/s1201-9712(99)90039-5 -
PloS One 2019Angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Angiostrongylus. Distribution of this worm corresponds to the dispersal of its main...
Angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic disease caused by nematodes of the genus Angiostrongylus. Distribution of this worm corresponds to the dispersal of its main intermediate host, the giant African land snail Achatina fulica. Genetic characterization can help identify parasitic pathogens and control the spreading of disease. The present study describes infection of A. fulica by Angiostrongylus, and provides a genetic outlook based on sequencing of specific regions. We collected 343 land snails from 22 provinces across six regions of Thailand between May 2017 and July 2018. Artificial digestion and Baermann's technique were employed to isolate Angiostrongylus larvae. The worm and its intermediate host were identified by sequencing with specific nucleotide regions. Phylogenetic tree was constructed to evaluate the relationship with other isolates. A. fulica from Chaiyaphum province was infected with A. cantonensis, whereas snails collected from Phrae and Chiang Rai provinces were infected with A. malaysiensis. The maximum likelihood tree based on 74 A. fulica COI sequences revealed monophyletic groups and identified two haplotypes: AF1 and AF2. Only AF1, which is distributed in all regions of Thailand, harbored the larvae of A. cantonensis and A. malaysiensis. Two mitochondrial genes (COI and cytb) and two nuclear regions (ITS2 and SSU rRNA) were sequenced in 41 Angiostrongylus specimens. The COI gene indicated that A. cantonensis was closely related to the AC10 haplotype; whereas the cytb gene revealed two new haplotypes: AC19 and AC20. SSU rRNA was useful for the identification of A. cantonensis; whereas ITS2 was a good genetic marker for differentiating between A. cantonensis and A. malaysiensis. This study provides genetic information about the parasite Angiostrongylus and its snail intermediate host. The data in this work may be useful for further study on the identification of Angiostrongylus spp., the genetic relationship between intermediate host and parasite, and control of parasites.
Topics: Angiostrongylus; Animals; DNA, Helminth; Disease Vectors; Host-Parasite Interactions; Larva; Phylogeny; Snails; Strongylida Infections; Thailand
PubMed: 31560712
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223257 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2020Three species of have been found in felids thus far, i.e., and . lives in the right heart and pulmonary arteries of the definitive natural host, the European wildcat...
Three species of have been found in felids thus far, i.e., and . lives in the right heart and pulmonary arteries of the definitive natural host, the European wildcat (), and non-patent infections have been reported in domestic cats (). , described in the Puma yaguarondi (), has never been reported in domestic felids, while recently a non-patent infection by was unequivocally described in a . Nonetheless, epizootiological and clinical relevance of angiostrongylosis in domestic cats are practically unknown. This study investigated whether cases of angiostrongylosis may be missed in cats living in areas enzootic for spp. and other metastrongyloids. Overall, 100 cats that were either positive (n.50) or negative (n.50) for metastrongyloid larvae at the Baermann's test, were examined for spp. with DNA-based methods and with the serological test Angio Detect™ for circulating antigen. The PCR analysis confirmed the copromicroscopy results, where 25 cats scored positive for , 16 for and 9 for both, while no cats were positive for -like larvae, including . None of the 100 sera samples scored positive at the Angio Detect™ test. These data suggest that currently feline angiostrongylosis is a minor parasitosis for domestic cats. Nevertheless, it cannot be excluded that the epizootiological drivers which have favored the spillover of and from wildlife to dogs and cats, could promote the emergence of feline angiostrongylosis, with an unpredictable health impact.
PubMed: 32351980
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00195 -
Journal of Infection in Developing... Dec 2021Angiostrongylus cantonensis and Gnathostoma spinigerum usually cause eosinophilic meningitis with associated peripheral blood eosinophilia. A 44-year-old man developed...
Angiostrongylus cantonensis and Gnathostoma spinigerum usually cause eosinophilic meningitis with associated peripheral blood eosinophilia. A 44-year-old man developed acute paraplegia with bowel and bladder dysfunction. Spinal magnetic resonance images showed a long T2W hyperintensity signal from the 1st to 8th spinal thoracic level. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed eosinophilia and elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein, whereas differential leucocytes count in peripheral blood was unremarkable. Positive immunoblot tests for A. cantonensis antibody in serum and cerebrospinal fluid were reported. The patient had neither history of recent traveling to the high endemic areas of the parasite in Thailand, nor consumption the parasitic hosts. Immediate treatment with intravenous pulse methylprednisolone and oral albendazole resulted in complete recovery. Despite an unremarkable differential leucocytes count, absence a history of parasitic hosts consumption, and a less common presentation with meningomyelitis, A. cantonensis should be considered when cerebrospinal fluid eosinophilia presents.
Topics: Adult; Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Eosinophilia; Humans; Male; Myelitis; Strongylida Infections; Thailand
PubMed: 35044954
DOI: 10.3855/jidc.14975 -
Journal of the American Veterinary... Mar 2018
Topics: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Animals, Zoo; Autopsy; Chiroptera; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Hemorrhage; Meningoencephalitis; Strongylida Infections
PubMed: 29461163
DOI: 10.2460/javma.252.5.545 -
Emerging Infectious Diseases Jun 2022Neural angiostrongyliasis is an emerging zoonosis caused by the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis. In humans, infection with this nematode often results in...
Neural angiostrongyliasis is an emerging zoonosis caused by the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis. In humans, infection with this nematode often results in eosinophilic meningitis and other severe disorders of the central nervous system. Europe was deemed a nonendemic region until 2018, when A. cantonensis worms were detected on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Spain, a tourism hotspot. Since that time, a sentinel surveillance system and a molecular approach have been used to follow the invasion path of the rat lungworm on the island. A. cantonensis worms have been found in animals from 8 locations on the island over 3 consecutive years. Our preliminary results show a recognizable pattern of clinical signs in infected hedgehogs and a single mitochondrial haplotype circulating in Mallorca. We present strong evidence confirming that the rat lungworm has successfully established and colonized an island in Europe and discuss observations and possible strategies for its early detection across continental Europe.
Topics: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Meningitis; Nematoda; Rats; Spain; Strongylida Infections
PubMed: 35608603
DOI: 10.3201/eid2806.212344 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases May 2022Angiostrongylus cantonensis (AC) is well-documented that parasitizes the host brain and causes eosinophilic meningitis. The migration route of AC in permissive hosts is...
Angiostrongylus cantonensis (AC) is well-documented that parasitizes the host brain and causes eosinophilic meningitis. The migration route of AC in permissive hosts is well demonstrated, while in nonpermissive hosts, it remains to be fully defined. In the present study, we exploited live imaging technology, morphological and pathological configuration analysis, and molecular biological technologies to explore the migration route of AC and the accompanying tissue damage in nonpermissive and permissive hosts. Our data indicated that, in nonpermissive host mouse, AC larvae migrated from intestinal wall to liver at 2 hours post-infection (hpi), from liver to lung at 4 hpi and then from lung to brain at 8 hpi. AC larval migration caused fatal lung injury (pneumonia) during acute and early infection phases, along with significant activation of Stat3/IL-6 signaling. In addition, AC induce sustained interstitial pneumonia in mouse and rat and pulmonary fibrosis only in rat during late infection phase. Moreover, during the early and late infection phases, Th2 cytokine expression and Stat3 and IL-6 signaling were persistently enhanced and myeloid macrophage cells were notably enriched in host lung, and administration of Stat3 and IL-6 inhibitors (C188-9 and LMT-28) attenuated AC infection-induced acute pneumonia in mice. Overall, we are the first to provide direct and systemic laboratory evidence of AC migration route in a nonpermissive host and report that infection with a high dose of AC larvae could result in acute and fatal pneumonia through Stat3/IL-6 signaling in mice. These findings may present a feasible to rational strategy to minimize the pathogenesis induced by AC.
Topics: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Animals; Interleukin-6; Meningitis; Mice; Pneumonia; Rats; STAT3 Transcription Factor; Strongylida Infections
PubMed: 35617354
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010461 -
International Journal For Parasitology.... Aug 2015Twenty-one species of Angiostrongylus plus Angiostrongylus sp. (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) are known currently in wildlife. These occur naturally in rodents, tupaiids,... (Review)
Review
Twenty-one species of Angiostrongylus plus Angiostrongylus sp. (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) are known currently in wildlife. These occur naturally in rodents, tupaiids, mephitids, mustelids, procyonids, felids, and canids, and aberrantly in a range of avian, marsupial and eutherian hosts including humans. Adults inhabit the pulmonary arteries and right atrium, ventricle and vena cava, bronchioles of the lung or arteries of the caecum and mesentery. All species pass first-stage larvae in the faeces of the host and all utilise slugs and/or aquatic or terrestrial snails as intermediate hosts. Gastropods are infected by ingestion or penetration of first-stage larvae; definitive hosts by ingestion of gastropods or gastropod slime. Transmission of at least one species may involve ingestion of paratenic hosts. Five developmental pathways are identified in these life cycles. Thirteen species, including Angiostrongylus sp., are known primarily from the original descriptions suggesting limited geographic distributions. The remaining species are widespread either globally or regionally, and are continuing to spread. Small experimental doses of infective larvae (ca. 20) given to normal or aberrant hosts are tolerated, although generally eliciting a granulomatous histopathological response; large doses (100-500 larvae) often result in clinical signs and/or death. Two species, A. cantonensis and A. costaricensis, are established zoonoses causing neurological and abdominal angiostrongliasis respectively. The zoonotic potential of A. mackerrasae, A. malaysiensis and A. siamensis particularly warrant investigation. Angiostrongylus cantonensis occurs in domestic animals, mammalian and avian wildlife and humans in the metropolitan areas of Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, where it has been suggested that tawny frogmouths and brushtail possums may serve as biosentinels. A major conservation issue is the devastating role A. cantonensis may play around zoos and fauna parks where captive rearing of endangered species programmes may exist and where Rattus spp. are invariably a problem.
PubMed: 25853051
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.02.006 -
Tropical Biomedicine Mar 2016The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a zoonotic parasite, is known to be responsible for eosinophilic meningitis and meningoencephalitis in humans in many...
The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a zoonotic parasite, is known to be responsible for eosinophilic meningitis and meningoencephalitis in humans in many countries worldwide. Another congener A. malaysiensis is a potential pathogen. Rodents as natural definitive host of the parasites are abundant and globally widespread. In this study, the prevalence of Angiostrongylus infection in wild rats was investigated in twenty-four provinces of Thailand during the period December 2011 to June 2014. Of the 669 wild rats sampled, 46 (6.88%) were infected with Angiostrongylus lungworms. The rodents harbouring A. cantonensis worms included Bandicota indica, Bandicota savilei, Rattus exulans, Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus complex and Rattus tiomanicus, and those harbouring A. malaysiensis were B. savilei, Rattus losea, R. norvegicus and R. rattus complex. No parasite was recovered from Maxomys surifer (n=11), Mus musculus (n=1), Niviventer fulvescens (n=2), Rattus argentiventer (n=4), Rattus nitidus (n=3) and Sundamys muelleri (n=3). In positive rats, the incidence of infection with Angiostrongylus lungworms was variable among host species and provinces. There were also considerable variation in the proportion of male and female worms among rodent hosts and localities. Two hundred and thirty-five of the collected worms were male and 282 were female. The mean worm burden in the positive rats was 11.24 and ranged from 1 to 61. 81.82% (423/517) of the adult worms were morphologically identified as A. cantonensis, and 18.18% (94/517) were A malaysiensis. One R. rattus from Prachuap Khiri Khan had mixed infection of A. cantonensis and A. malaysiensis (10 worms of each species). The overall number of male (202) and female (221) A. cantonensis worms was not significantly different (χ = 0.86, 0.50 > P > 0.30). However, the overall number of male (33) and female (61) A. malaysiensis worms was significantly different (χ = 8.34, P < 0.01). The present study added one new definitive host (R. tiomanicus) for A. cantonensis and two new definitive hosts (B. savilei and R. losea) for A. malaysiensis in Thailand. Our data update and contribute significantly to existing knowledge of the geographical distribution of A. cantonensis in wild rats in Thailand and confirm the occurrence of A. malaysiensis throughout the country.
PubMed: 33579139
DOI: No ID Found