Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm) in Florida, USA: current status

Abstract

Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been found in Florida, USA, from the panhandle in the north to Miami and surrounding areas in the southern parts of the state, in both definitive and intermediate hosts in a limited studies completed in 2015. Additional studies have identified this parasite in a variety of intermediate hosts, both native and non-native gastropod species, with new host species recorded. Many areas in Florida with higher A. cantonensis prevalence were those with a high human population density, which suggests it is a matter of time before human infections occur in Florida. Case reports in the state currently involve non-human primates and include a gibbon and orangutan in Miami. Here, we report the current status of A. cantonensis in the state, as well as the infection in a capuchin monkey and presumptive infection in a red ruffed lemur in Gainesville, Florida.

Angiostrongylosis in Animals and Humans in Europe

“…Ongoing spread of the major DHs and IHs of A. cantonensis has led to an almost-global distribution of AEM within the tropics [2]. The majority of clinical cases of AEM are reported from South-East Asia; however, the disease is also prominent in Pacific regions (French Polynesia, Hawai'i, and Australia) with recent invasions into the continental United States [3,74]. Closer to Europe, A. cantonensis had already been detected in Egypt by the late 1970s, representing the first reports on its occurrence in the broader Mediterranean basin [75].…”

Paratenic hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis and their relation to human neuroangiostrongyliasis globally

“…Not only are clinical cases of neuroangiostrongyliasis steadily increasing [ 86 ], but recent studies have recorded A. cantonensis in areas where it was previously unknown [ 3 , 41 , 42 , 45 , 46 , 152 ]. This spread is facilitated by increasing globalisation leading to the further introduction of infected rats and other invasive host species, e.g.…”

“…More recently, A. cantonensis has been recorded in other areas, including additional Caribbean islands [ 20 , 39 , 40 ], Mallorca [ 41 ] and the Canary Islands [ 42 ]. It is now widely distributed across many tropical/subtropical regions globally [ 3 , 13 , 43 ], as well as a few more temperate localities [ [44] , [45] , [46] ].…”

Citizen scientist efforts in tracking the distribution of the Cuban treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)

“…Given reports from Volusia, Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough, Alachua, St. Johns, and Leon Counties of the zoonotic nematode parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis's, the rat lungworm, and nine other parasites found in CTF individuals, euthanized frogs could be sent to scientists to better understand parasite loads (Ortega et al 2015, Walden et al 2020, Chase et al 2022. Ortega et al (2022) observed that CTF biomass was not negatively impacted by infections with at least one parasitic nematode, Aplectana hamatospicula, and CTF shed more nematode worms in their feces than native frogs.…”