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Gottdenker NL, Nascimento Ramos RA, Hakimi H, McHale B, Rivera S, Miller BM, Howerth EW, Burrell CE, Stilwell JM, McManamon R, Verocai GG. Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019-2022. Emerg Infect Dis 2023; 29:2167-2170. [PMID: 37735783 PMCID: PMC10521602 DOI: 10.3201/eid2910.230706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), a zoonotic parasite invasive to the United States, causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. A. cantonensis harbors in rat reservoir hosts and is transmitted through gastropods and other paratenic hosts. We discuss the public health relevance of autochthonous A. cantonensis cases in brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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Solórzano Álava L, Bedoya Pilozo C, Hernandez Alvarez H, Rojas Rivera L, Rodriguez Ortega M, Fraga Nodarse J, Pereira LDM, Simões RDO, Vilela RDV. In the Dawn of an Early Invasion: No Genetic Diversity of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Ecuador? Pathogens 2023; 12:878. [PMID: 37513725 PMCID: PMC10384297 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12070878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been reported worldwide. However, some basic questions remain unanswered about A. cantonensis in Ecuador: (1) Was the invasion of A. cantonensis in Ecuador unique, or did it occur in different waves? (2) Was this invasion as recent as historical records suggest? (3) Did this invasion come from other regions of South America or elsewhere? To address these issues, we assessed the genetic diversity of MT-CO1 gene sequences from isolates obtained in 11 of Ecuador's 24 provinces. Our Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree recovered A. cantonensis as a well-supported monophyletic group. All 11 sequences from Ecuador were identical and identified as AC17a. The haplotype AC17a, found in Ecuador and the USA, formed a cluster with AC17b (USA), AC13 (Thailand), and AC12a-b (Cambodia). Notably, all the samples obtained in Ecuadorian provinces' different geographic and climatic regions had no genetic difference. Despite the lack of genetic information on A. cantonensis in Latin America, except in Brazil, our finding differs from previous studies by its absence of gene diversity in Ecuador. We concluded that the invasion of A. cantonensis in Ecuador may have occurred: (1) as a one-time event, (2) recently, and (3) from Asia via the USA. Further research should include samples from countries neighboring Ecuador to delve deeper into this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Solórzano Álava
- Hospital Luis Vernaza, Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 090101, Ecuador
| | - Cesar Bedoya Pilozo
- Hospital Luis Vernaza, Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 090101, Ecuador
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Raquel de Oliveira Simões
- Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Instituto de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 23890-000, RJ, Brazil
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Jarvi S, Prociv P. Angiostrongylus cantonensis and neuroangiostrongyliasis (rat lungworm disease): 2020. Parasitology 2021; 148:129-132. [PMID: 33315004 PMCID: PMC11010204 DOI: 10.1017/s003118202000236x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susan Jarvi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, University of Hawai`i at Hilo, Hilo, HI96720, USA
| | - Paul Prociv
- Formerly of Department of Microbiology & Parasitology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD4067, Australia
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Paredes-Esquivel C, Sola J, Delgado-Serra S, Puig Riera M, Negre N, Miranda MÁ, Jurado-Rivera JA. Angiostrongylus cantonensis in North African hedgehogs as vertebrate hosts, Mallorca, Spain, October 2018. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 24. [PMID: 31431209 PMCID: PMC6702795 DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2019.24.33.1900489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In October 2018, two Atelerix algirus hedgehogs were admitted to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) with signs of acute neurological disease. Necropsy detected immature, fully developed nematodes in the subarachnoid space of both hedgehogs, including a gravid female worm. DNA-based molecular tools confirmed the nematode as Angiostrongylus cantonensis, an important aetiological agent of eosinophilic meningitis in humans. So far this zoonotic parasite in has not been reported in western European wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Paredes-Esquivel
- Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Group, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Jessica Sola
- Centre de Recuperació de Fauna Silvestre de les Illes Balears (COFIB), Mallorca, Spain
| | - Sofía Delgado-Serra
- Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Group, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Miguel Puig Riera
- Centre de Recuperació de Fauna Silvestre de les Illes Balears (COFIB), Mallorca, Spain
| | - Nieves Negre
- Centre de Recuperació de Fauna Silvestre de les Illes Balears (COFIB), Mallorca, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Miranda
- Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Group, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - José A Jurado-Rivera
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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Abstract
RATIONALE Angiostrongylus cantonensis-induced eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (AEM) in infants is a very rare but fatal disease. Utilization of genetic assay to detect the cerebral parasite plays an important role for the treatment of the infection. PATIENT CONCERNS Two infants (<2 years) presented with cough, intermittent fever, mental fatigue, and poor diet. DIAGNOSIS The patients were under clinical examination and laboratory test including cardiac ultrasound, chest X-ray, blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cell counting, serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) on DNA from CSF. Due to hypereosinophils in patients' peripheral blood and CSF, and abundant DNA sequences from A cantonensis in CSF, the patients were diagnosed with Angiostrongylus eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. INTERVENTIONS The patients were treated with albendazole to deworm, and methylprednisolone to reduce inflammation. OUTCOME The patients were completely recovered from AEM without relapse after 10-day treatment. LESSONS ELISA and MRI are not sufficiently accurate for the diagnosis of AEM in infants. NGS can specify the infection by the cerebral parasite and offers a new effective approach for the early and precise diagnosis of AEM in infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mei Xie
- Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhen Zhou
- Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Suhua Guo
- Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zengqing Li
- Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiusheng Deng
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
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Morassutti AL, Rascoe LN, Handali S, DA Silva AJ, Wilkins PP, Graeff-Teixeira C. Cross-reactivity of the 31 kDa antigen of Angiostrongylus cantonensis - Dealing with the immunodiagnosis of meningoencephalitis. Parasitology 2017; 144:459-63. [PMID: 27866477 DOI: 10.1017/S0031182016001918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The primary causative agent of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (EoM) in endemic regions is the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The occurrence of EoM was previously restricted to countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands; however, more recently, it has been reported from other regions, including Brazil. The commonly used diagnosis is detection of specific antibody reactivity to the 31 kDa antigen, which is derived from female worm somatic extracts. Here we report the occurrence of cross-reactivity to this antigen in sera from other parasitic infections, especially those that may cause EoM, such as gnathostomiasis, toxocariasis, hydatidosis and strongyloidiasis. We also demonstrated that the cross-reactivity, in part, is dependent of the concentration of antigen used in Western blot assays. We discuss the importance of these findings on the interpretation of this test.
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De NV, Duyet LV, Chai JY. A Case of Ocular Angiostrongyliasis with Molecular Identification of the Species in Vietnam. Korean J Parasitol 2015; 53:713-7. [PMID: 26797438 PMCID: PMC4725225 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2015.53.6.713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2015] [Revised: 09/02/2015] [Accepted: 09/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
A 23-year-old female residing in a village of Cao Bang Province, North Vietnam, visited the Hospital of Hanoi Medical University in July 2013. She felt dim eyes and a bulge-sticking pain in her left eye for some days before visiting the hospital. In the hospital, a clinical examination, an eye endoscopy, and an operation were carried out. A nematode specimen was collected from the eye of this patient. The body of this worm was thin and long and measured 22.0×0.3 mm. It was morphologically suggested as an immature female worm of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. By a molecular method using 18S rRNA gene, this nematode was confirmed as A. cantonensis. This is the first molecular study for identification of A. cantonensis in Vietnam.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyen Van De
- Department of Parasitology, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Le Van Duyet
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Bio-Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Jong-Yil Chai
- Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea
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Dadlani R, Dadlani R, Ghosal N, Hegde A. Occam's razor in the management of ventriculoperitoneal shunt dysfunction: Diagnosis and management of an unusual pediatric case. Asian J Neurosurg 2015; 10:177-80. [PMID: 25972962 PMCID: PMC4421968 DOI: 10.4103/1793-5482.154988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt surgery is probably the commonest surgical procedure in neurosurgery. Belying its technical simplicity is the myriad complications associated with it. Shunt malfunction is a common complication associated with this surgery, second only to shunt related infections, which may be associated with it. Sterile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) eosinophilia (CE) has been reported with VP shunts, which may or may not be related to the dysfunction. Eosinophilia in the CSF has also been associated with a number of other conditions including parasitic infestations in the brain. This may be unrelated to the shunt surgery. We present a case of a child, operated earlier for hydrocephalus, who presented with sub-acute loss of vision and bilateral oculomotor paresis. CSF from a chamber tap revealed eosinophilia. The commonest presenting symptom of shunt malfunction is raised intracranial pressure. There are no reports in the literature of VP shunt malfunction presenting with bilateral oculomotor paresis and decreased visual acuity. The associated CE complicated the clinical picture, especially since the initial brain radiology was normal. We discuss the clinical differential diagnosis of this very interesting presentation, management dilemmas and outcome in this child. This rare clinical presentation was found to be the result of a shunt malfunction and not due to any rare parasitic infestation of the brain. Occam's razor dictates that the simplest explanation in a given situation is usually the most accurate, as is seen in this case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Dadlani
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Reena Dadlani
- Department of Microbiology, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Nandita Ghosal
- Department of Pathology, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
| | - Alangar Hegde
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
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