Enzootic Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Rats and Snails after an Outbreak of Human Eosinophilic Meningitis, Jamaica

Lindo, John; Waugh, Cecilia; Hall, John E.; Cunningham-Myrie, Colette; Ashley, Deanna; Eberhard, Mark L.; Sullivan, James J.; Bishop, Henry; Robinson, David G.; Holtz, Timothy H.; Robinson, R. D.

doi:10.3201/eid0803.010316

Cited by 82 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…cantonensis has been found primarily in Asia, islands of the Pacific, and Australia but has also been observed in North, Central, and South America (2,31,33,169,293) and the islands of the Indian Ocean (e.g., La Reunion). The increasingly widespread travel of people has led to the detection of many imported cases of angiostrongyliasis and has become an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of neurological disease in travel medicine (3,164,262).…”

Section: Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Update on Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis and Its Clinical Relevance

2009

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SUMMARY Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis is caused by a variety of helminthic infections. These worm-specific infections are named after the causative worm genera, the most common being angiostrongyliasis, gnathostomiasis, toxocariasis, cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, baylisascariasis, and paragonimiasis. Worm parasites enter an organism through ingestion of contaminated water or an intermediate host and can eventually affect the central nervous system (CNS). These infections are potentially serious events leading to sequelae or death, and diagnosis depends on currently limited molecular methods. Identification of parasites in fluids and tissues is rarely possible, while images and clinical examinations do not lead to a definitive diagnosis. Treatment usually requires the concomitant administration of corticoids and anthelminthic drugs, yet new compounds and their extensive and detailed clinical evaluation are much needed. Eosinophilia in fluids may be detected in other infectious and noninfectious conditions, such as neoplastic disease, drug use, and prosthesis reactions. Thus, distinctive identification of eosinophils in fluids is a necessary component in the etiologic diagnosis of CNS infections.

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Section: Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Update on Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis and Its Clinical Relevance

2009

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“…The infection rate of these rodents is highly variable (Wang et al, 2008) and does not suggest specificity among the murids. Some findings of infected rodents in urban areas are associated with epidemiological investigations after the occurrence of cases of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, such as in Cuba, Jamaica and Brazil Lindo et al, 2002;Simões et al, 2011 How A. cantonensis arrived and became established in the Americas is not well established, but Diaz (2008) attributed the spread of A. cantonensis to the American continents to the introduction of R. norvegicus by containers carried by ships. In Brazil, two arrival routes of this parasite have been postulated: in parasitized rats during the country's colonial period, when there was frequent contact with Africa and Asia and/or by recent invasion of the African snail A. fulica, some two decades ago (Thiengo et al, 2007).…”

Section: Rattus Norvegicusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Angiostrongyliasis in the Americas

Maldonado¹,

Simões²,

Thiengo³

2012

Zoonosis

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“…A. cantonensis has been observed in several regions of the world [3][4][5][6][7] , and they were distributed from Eastern Asia to other continents by two main hosts: rats (definitive hosts) and Achatina fulica Bowdich, 1822 (one of the intermediate hosts), especially during the Second World War 8 . Several species of land and freshwater snails have also been found to be naturally infected with A. cantonensis [9][10][11][12][13][14] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and distribution of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda, Angiostrongylidae) in Achatina fulica (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in Baixada Santista, São Paulo, Brazil

Guerino

Pecora

Miranda

et al. 2017

Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop.

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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.

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Enzootic Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Rats and Snails after an Outbreak of Human Eosinophilic Meningitis, Jamaica

Cited by 82 publications

References 8 publications

Update on Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis and Its Clinical Relevance

Update on Eosinophilic Meningoencephalitis and Its Clinical Relevance

Angiostrongyliasis in the Americas

Prevalence and distribution of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda, Angiostrongylidae) in Achatina fulica (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in Baixada Santista, São Paulo, Brazil

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