title: Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of Angiostrongylus cantonensis DNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Eosinophilic Meningitis.
abstract: Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the most common infectious cause of eosinophilic meningitis. Timely diagnosis of these infections is difficult, partly because reliable laboratory diagnostic methods are unavailable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of A. cantonensis DNA in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens. A total of 49 CSF specimens from 33 patients with eosinophilic meningitis were included: A. cantonensis DNA was detected in 32 CSF specimens, from 22 patients. Four patients had intermittently positive and negative real-time PCR results on subsequent samples, indicating that the level of A. cantonensis DNA present in CSF may fluctuate during the course of the illness. Immunodiagnosis and/or supplemental PCR testing supported the real-time PCR findings for 30 patients. On the basis of these observations, this real-time PCR assay can be useful to detect A. cantonensis in the CSF from patients with eosinophilic meningitis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qvarnstrom
authors.affiliation: Life Source Biomedical LLC, Herndon, Virginia.
authors.forename: Maniphet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xayavong
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitologia Molecular, Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil and Laboratório de Biologia Parasitária, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina Aramburu
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: Sarah Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: A Christian
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Whelen
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: Precilia S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Calimlim
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Department of Health, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: Rebecca H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Sciulli
authors.affiliation: Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, Honolulu, Hawaii.|Kaiser Permanente Regional Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: Stacey A A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente Regional Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Higa
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Influenza Program, Cambodia Country Office, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kitsutani
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chea
authors.affiliation: Communicable Disease Department, Ministry of Health, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Seng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois and Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitologia Molecular, Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil and Laboratório de Biologia Parasitária, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graeff-Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: LeAnne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Alexandre J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: da Silva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth