Tawny frogmouths and brushtail possums as sentinels for Angiostrongylus cantonensis, the rat lungworm

Ma, Gemma; Dennis, Michelle M.; Rose, Karrie; Spratt, David M.; Spielman, Derek

doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.11.009

“…(Carlisle et al 1998), wild black-and grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus species) (Barrett et al 2002), Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) (Monks et al 2005), and, most recently, Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) (Monks et al 2005, Gelis et al 2011, Ma et al 2013) and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) (Ma et al 2013). The presence of A. cantonensis has also been suggested to be a threat to Australian endangered bird species, such as the Eastern Bristlebird, Dasyornis brachypterus, which prey on gastropods (Stokes et al 2007).…”

Section: Angiostrongylus Species In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A relatively common Australian bird, the Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) has also been suggested as a sentinel to identify risk areas for human and animal infections (Ma et al 2013). The diet of these birds consists mostly of large nocturnal invertebrates.…”

Section: Sentinel Hosts For Hotspots Of Human Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence of Neural Angiostrongyliasis in Eastern Australia

Aghazadeh

¹

,

Jones

²

,

Aland

³

et al. 2015

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Despite an apparent increase in cases of angiostrongyliasis in humans and animals in Australia, the epidemiology of infection with the two species of Angiostrongylus that co-exist in this country, namely A. cantonensis and A. mackerrasae, is poorly understood. This knowledge gap is particularly important with respect to A. mackerrasae, a species evidently native to Australia, as its ability to cause disease in humans is unknown. Likewise, there is little information on the roles of native and introduced species of rodents and molluscs as hosts of Angiostrongylus species in Australia. This review focuses on the gaps in the knowledge about the two species, highlighting the need for epidemiological and pathogenesis studies on the native lungworm A. mackerrasae.

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“…Apart from rats and dogs, A. cantonensis has also been reported in many different animal species in Australia including captive Bennett's wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) 42 , horses 43 , captive rufous bettongs (Aepyprymnus rufescens) 44 , captive tamarins (Sanguinus spp) 45 , wild black-and greyheaded flying foxes (Pteropus species) 46 , yellow tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) 47 and, most recently, tawny frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) 47,48,49 and brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) 48 . The presence of A. cantonensis has also been suggested to be a threat to Australian endangered bird species such as the Eastern bristlebird, Dasyornis brachypterus, which prey on gastropods 36 .…”

Section: Angiostrongylus Species In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A relatively common Australian bird, the Tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) has also been suggested as a sentinel to identify risk areas for human and animal infections 48 . The diet of these birds consists mostly of large nocturnal invertebrates.…”

Section: Sentinel Hosts For Hot-spots Of Human Infectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular and pathological studies on Angiostrongylus species in southeast Queensland

Aghazadeh¹

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Despite an apparent increase in cases of angiostrongyliasis in humans and animals in Australia, the epidemiology of infection with the two species of Angiostrongylus that co-exist in this country, namely A. cantonensis and A. mackerrasae, is poorly understood. This knowledge gap is particularly important with respect to Angiostrongylus mackerrasae, a species evidently native to Australia, as its ability to cause disease in humans is unknown.Likewise, there is little information on the roles of native and introduced species of rodents and molluscs as hosts of Angiostrongylus species in Australia. This thesis focuses on the gaps in the knowledge about the epidemiology of two species in southeast Queensland, highlighting the hotspots for transmission of the parasite in urban Brisbane. A comprehensive survey of rats belonging to the species Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus fuscipes was conducted. The prevalence of infection with Angiostrongylus spp. was 16.5% in Rattus spp. trapped in urban Brisbane and surrounds which is much higher than estimates of earlier studies. This highlights the possible risk of zoonotic infection in children, dogs and wildlife in this region and indicates the necessity for public awareness as well as more detailed epidemiological studies on this parasite in eastern Australia.Of the two Australian species, Angiostrongylus mackerrasae appears to be adapted to life in the native bush rat, Rattus fuscipes. This species evidently has an identical life cycle to that of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. A. mackerrasae may have greater potential to infect non-rodent hosts as it has been found as adult form in the lungs, as has been recorded for an individual flying fox.This raises concerns as to the potential of this native angiostrongylid to infect domestic animals and humans. To date, data on the taxonomy, epidemiology and population genetics of A. mackerrasae are poor or unknown. Here, we describe the mitochondrial (mt) genome of A. mackerrasae with the aim of addressing some of these knowledge gaps.The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of A. mackerrasae was amplified from a single morphologically identified adult worm, by long-PCR in two overlapping amplicons (8 kb and 10 kb). The amplicons were sequenced using the MiSeq Illumina platform and annotated using an in-house pipeline. Amino acid sequences inferred from individual protein coding genes of the mt genomes were concatenated and then subjected to phylogenetic analysis using Bayesian inference.The mt genome of A. mackerrasae is 13,640 bp in size and contains 12 protein coding genes (cox1-3, nad1-6, nad4L, atp6 and cob), and two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. The mt genome of A. mackerrasae has similar characteristics to those of other Angiostrongylus species which is explained in detail in chapter 3. Phylogenic comparisons reveal III that A. mackerrasae is closely related to A. cantonensis and the two sibling species may have recently diverged compared with all other species in the genus with a highl...

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