First report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae) in Achatina fulica (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Southeast and South Brazil.
The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a worldwide-distributed zoonotic nematode that can cause human eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. Here, for the first time, we report the isolation of A. cantonensis from Achatina fulica from two Brazilian states: Rio de Janeiro (specifically the municipalities of Barra do Piraí, situated at the Paraiba River Valley region and São Gonçalo, situated at the edge of Guanabara Bay) and Santa Catarina (in municipality of Joinville). The lungworms were identified by comparing morphological and morphometrical data obtained from adult worms to values obtained from experimental infections of A. cantonensis from Pernambuco, Brazil, and Akita, Japan. Only a few minor morphological differences that were determined to represent intra-specific variation were observed. This report of A. cantonensis in South and Southeast Brazil, together with the recent report of the zoonosis and parasite-infected molluscs in Northeast Brazil, provide evidence of the wide distribution of A. cantonensis in the country. The need for efforts to better understand the role of A. fulica in the transmission of meningoencephalitis in Brazil and the surveillance of molluscs and rodents, particularly in ports, is emphasized.
Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Av. Brasil 4365, 21040-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. maldonad@ioc.fiocruz.br
Arnaldo
A
Maldonado
Raquel O
RO
Simões
Ana Paula M
AP
Oliveira
Esther M
EM
Motta
Mônica A
MA
Fernandez
Zilene M
ZM
Pereira
Simone S
SS
Monteiro
Eduardo J Lopes
EJ
Torres
Silvana Carvalho
SC
Thiengo
D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005260:Female; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008590:Meningoencephalitis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission