Angiostrongylus costaricensis: first record of its occurrence in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, and a review of its geographic distribution Angiostrongylus costaricensis: primeiro relato de sua ocorrência no estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil, e revisão de sua distribuição geográfica

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Gil Patrus M. Pena, José de Souza Andrade Filho, Samuel Curvelo de Assis
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1995
• Subjects: Angiostrongylus costaricensis; Abdominal angiostrongyliasis; Geographic distribution; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic; Argentina
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651995000400016; https://doaj.org/article/1f79ada74feb4ee18a2bd4f9fba37fab

Abdominal angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic disease caused by Angiostrongylus costaricensis, a metastrongylid nematode with wide geographic distribution, occurring from the United States to Argentina. In Brazil, the disease has been reported from the States of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Federal District of Brasilia and Minas Gerais. We report here a case of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in a 9-year-old girl, from Itatiba, State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, submitted to exploratory laparotomy for acute abdomen. Extensive inflammatory lesions of terminal ileum and cecum, with perforations of the first, were present, and ileocecal resection was performed. The pathological picture was characterized by transmural inflammatory granulomatous reaction, extensive eosinophilic infiltration, eosinophilic vasculitis and the presence of worms within a mesenteric artery branch, with histological features of metastrongylid nematodes. This case report contributes to a better knowledge of the geographic distribution of this parasite in Brazil, suggesting that abdominal angiostrongyliasis may represent a disease of medical importance, more than a rarity of academic interest. Angiostrongylus costaricensis, um parasita nematódeo, com ampla distribuição geográfica, é o agente causal da angiostrongilíase abdominal. No Brasil, a doença tem sido descrita nos Estados do Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo e Minas Gerais e no Distrito Federal. Relatamos a ocorrência de um caso de angiostrongilíase abdominal no estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil. Paciente de 9 anos de idade, sexo feminino, foi submetida a laparotomia exploradora por abdômen agudo. Foram observadas lesões inflamatórias extensas de íleo terminal e ceco, com perfuração do íleo, tendo sido realizada ressecção do segmento acometido. O estudo anatomopatológico mostrou inflamação granulomatosa transmural, infiltrado intenso de eosinófilos, vasculite eosinofílica e a presença de parasitas, com características histológicas de nematódeos ...