title: [Epidemiological investigation of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Jiangmen of Guangdong Province].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To make an epidemiological survey on Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Jiangmen City of Guangdong Province.
  
  
  METHODS
  From October 2006 to November 2007, the characteristics of A. cantonensis infection were investigated in Jiangmen district in various hosts, including the third stage larva infection in the snails Achatina fulica and Pomacea canaliculata by digestion method, and the adult A. cantonensis in rats by the dissection of heart and lungs. Relevant symptoms and dietary habits in Jiangmen residents who were randomly recruited were also investigated by questionnaire, and the specific IgG and IgM antibodies against A. cantonensis in their sera were detected by ELISA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  695 A. fulica and 720 P. canaliculata were examined. The infection rate of third stage larva of A. cantonensis were 45.0% and 1.8% respectively, with an infectivity of 53.74+/-147.30 and 5.23+/-8.51 respectively. Natural infection rate of A. cantonensis in all 229 rats was 4.4%. Among the 300 people surveyed, 11.3% had a history of eating raw or undercooked fish and shrimp, 5.3% directly or indirectly exposed to A. fulica or P. canaliculata. The positive rate of specific IgG antibody against A. cantonensis for serum samples among residents was 14.0% (42/300), and 5 serum samples in the 42 positive samples showed specific IgM antibody, with a positive rate of 1.7%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Jiangmen district is an endemic area of A. cantonensis, and the local residents are under the risk of infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogenic Biology, Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou 510182, China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Qi-Ming
authors.initials: QM
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Dai-Xiong
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xi-Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051381:Rats; D012908:Snails / Q000469:parasitology*; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M