Introduction: Angiostrongylus cantonensis causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. Worldwide expansion of this nematode is linked to the dispersion of their hosts. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of A. cantonensis infection in Achatina fulica in the nine municipalities that make up Baixada Santista, São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae were analyzed using optical microscopy. We performed polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism using restriction endonuclease ClaI, directed to the internal transcribed spacer region 2 of A. cantonensis larval DNA. Results: Of the 540 snails analyzed, 117 (21.7%) were infected by A. cantonensis. For morphological and morphometric analyses, 60 larvae were used. Second-stage larvae were, on average, 358.2µm long and 26.4µm wide, while third-stage larvae were, on average, 450µm long and 21.12µm wide. The tails of the larvae ended in a fine tip. Conclusions: All municipalities comprising Baixada Santista had A. fulica that were naturally infected with A. cantonensis. All of the observed characteristics were typical of the species.
BackgroundThe Medical Malacology Collection (Coleção de Malacologia Médica, Fiocruz-CMM) is a depository of medically relevant mollusks, especially from the genus Biomphalaria, which includes the hosts of Schistosoma mansoni. Taxonomic studies of these snails have traditionally focused on the morphology of the reproductive system. However, determination of some species is complicated by the similarity shown by these characters. Molecular techniques have been used to try to overcome this problem.DescriptionThe Fiocruz-CMM utilizes morphological and/or molecular method for species’ identification. However, part of the collection has not been identified by molecular techniques and some points were unidentified. The present study employs polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP) to evaluate the identification of Biomphalaria in the Fiocruz-CMM, correct existing errors, assess the suitability of taxonomic synonyms, and identify unknown specimens. The results indicated that 56.7% of the mollusk specimens were correctly identified, 4.0% were wrongly identified, and 0.4% was identified under taxonomic synonyms. Additionally, the PCR-RFLP analysis identified for the first time 17.6% of the specimens in the Collection. However, 3.1% of the specimens could not be identified because the mollusk tissues were degraded, and 18.2% of the specimens were inconclusively identified, demonstrating the need for new taxonomic studies in this group.ConclusionThe data was utilized to update data of Environmental Information Reference Center (CRIA). These studies demonstrate the importance of using more than one technique in taxonomic confirmation and the good preservation of specimens’ collection.
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