First report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) infections in invasive rodents from five islands of the Ogasawara Archipelago, Japan.
BACKGROUND
Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen, 1935) is a parasite of murid rodents and causative agent of human neuro-angiostrongyliasis. In 2011, the Ogasawara Islands in the western North Pacific were assigned a World Natural Heritage site status. The occurrence of A. cantonensis is well documented in the Chichijima, Hahajima, and Anijima Islands. However, the occurrence of A. cantonensis in the other islands of the Ogasawara Islands has not been reported.


RESULTS
Between March 2010 and July 2011, 57 Rattus norvegicus and 79 R. rattus were collected from 9 islands (the Hahajima group: Anejima, Imoutojima, Meijima, Mukohjima, and Hirajima; Chichijima group: Minamijima; Mukojima group: Nakoudojima and Yomejima; and Iwojima group: Iwojima). Adult nematodes were found in the pulmonary artery of 46 R. norvegicus collected in the 5 islands of the Hahajima group (Anejima, Meijima, Imoutojima, Hrajima, and Mukohjima Islands). These nematodes were identified by molecular analysis as A. cantonensis. Comparison of the mitochondrial DNA sequences confirmed that all the samples from the Ogasawara Islands shared only a single lineage of A. cantonensis, which has been previously detected in the Okinawa, Hawaii, and Brazil.


CONCLUSIONS
We describe new endemic foci of rat angiostrongyliasis in the Hahajima group (Anejima, Meijima, Imoutojima, Hirajima, and Mukohjima Islands) of the Ogasawara Islands. These findings indicate that the endemic foci of A. cantonensis are widely distributed in the Ogasawara Islands. Although human cases have not yet been reported in the Ogasawara Islands, the widespread detection of A. cantonensis could be of importance from the perspective of public health.
Section of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Toshihiro
T
Tokiwa
Takuma
T
Hashimoto
Tatsuo
T
Yabe
Noriyuki
N
Komatsu
Nobuaki
N
Akao
Nobuo
N
Ohta
D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005843:Geography; D015801:Helminth Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D058865:Introduced Species; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000469:parasitology; D051381:Rats; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
D018509:DNA, Helminth; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV