Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China.
Background Several angiostrongyliasis outbreaks have been reported in recent years but the disease continues to be neglected in public health circles. We describe an outbreak in Dali, southwest China in order to highlight some key problems for the control of this helminth infection. Methodology/prin...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:22fc598c9d964a70b3a0fd35b1d56e57 2023-05-15T15:15:40+02:00 Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. Shan Lv Yi Zhang Shao-Rong Chen Li-Bo Wang Wen Fang Feng Chen Jin-Yong Jiang Yuan-Lin Li Zun-Wei Du Xiao-Nong Zhou 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 https://doaj.org/article/22fc598c9d964a70b3a0fd35b1d56e57 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19771154/pdf/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 https://doaj.org/article/22fc598c9d964a70b3a0fd35b1d56e57 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 3, Iss 9, p e520 (2009) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 2022-12-31T09:18:33Z Background Several angiostrongyliasis outbreaks have been reported in recent years but the disease continues to be neglected in public health circles. We describe an outbreak in Dali, southwest China in order to highlight some key problems for the control of this helminth infection. Methodology/principal findings All available medical records of suspected angiostrongyliasis patients visiting hospitals in Dali in the period 1 October 2007-31 March 2008 were reviewed, and tentative diagnoses of varying strengths were reached according to given sets of criteria. Snails collected from local markets, restaurants and natural habitats were also screened for the presence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. A total of 33 patients met criteria for infection, and 11 among them were classified as clinically confirmed. An additional eight patients were identified through a surveillance system put in operation in response to the outbreak. The epidemic lasted for 8 months with its peak in February 2008. Of the 33 patients, 97.0% complained of severe headache. 84.8% patients had high eosinophil cell counts either in the peripheral blood or in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Three-quarters of the patients were treated with a combination of albendazole and corticosteroids, resulting in significantly improved overall conditions. Twenty-two patients reported the consumption of raw or undercooked snails prior to the onset of the symptoms, and approximately 1.0% of the Pomacea canaliculata snails on sale were found to be infected with A. cantonensis. The snails were also found in certain habitats around Dali but no parasites were detected in these populations. Conclusions/significance The import and sale of infected P. canaliculata is the likely trigger for this angiostrongyliasis outbreak. Awareness of angiostrongyliasis must be raised, and standardized diagnosis and treatment are needed in order to provide clinicians with a guide to address this disease. Health education campaigns could limit the risk, and a hospital-based surveillance ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 3 9 e520 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Shan Lv Yi Zhang Shao-Rong Chen Li-Bo Wang Wen Fang Feng Chen Jin-Yong Jiang Yuan-Lin Li Zun-Wei Du Xiao-Nong Zhou Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Several angiostrongyliasis outbreaks have been reported in recent years but the disease continues to be neglected in public health circles. We describe an outbreak in Dali, southwest China in order to highlight some key problems for the control of this helminth infection. Methodology/principal findings All available medical records of suspected angiostrongyliasis patients visiting hospitals in Dali in the period 1 October 2007-31 March 2008 were reviewed, and tentative diagnoses of varying strengths were reached according to given sets of criteria. Snails collected from local markets, restaurants and natural habitats were also screened for the presence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis. A total of 33 patients met criteria for infection, and 11 among them were classified as clinically confirmed. An additional eight patients were identified through a surveillance system put in operation in response to the outbreak. The epidemic lasted for 8 months with its peak in February 2008. Of the 33 patients, 97.0% complained of severe headache. 84.8% patients had high eosinophil cell counts either in the peripheral blood or in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Three-quarters of the patients were treated with a combination of albendazole and corticosteroids, resulting in significantly improved overall conditions. Twenty-two patients reported the consumption of raw or undercooked snails prior to the onset of the symptoms, and approximately 1.0% of the Pomacea canaliculata snails on sale were found to be infected with A. cantonensis. The snails were also found in certain habitats around Dali but no parasites were detected in these populations. Conclusions/significance The import and sale of infected P. canaliculata is the likely trigger for this angiostrongyliasis outbreak. Awareness of angiostrongyliasis must be raised, and standardized diagnosis and treatment are needed in order to provide clinicians with a guide to address this disease. Health education campaigns could limit the risk, and a hospital-based surveillance ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shan Lv Yi Zhang Shao-Rong Chen Li-Bo Wang Wen Fang Feng Chen Jin-Yong Jiang Yuan-Lin Li Zun-Wei Du Xiao-Nong Zhou |
author_facet |
Shan Lv Yi Zhang Shao-Rong Chen Li-Bo Wang Wen Fang Feng Chen Jin-Yong Jiang Yuan-Lin Li Zun-Wei Du Xiao-Nong Zhou |
author_sort |
Shan Lv |
title |
Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
title_short |
Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
title_full |
Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
title_fullStr |
Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in Dali, China. |
title_sort |
human angiostrongyliasis outbreak in dali, china. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 https://doaj.org/article/22fc598c9d964a70b3a0fd35b1d56e57 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 3, Iss 9, p e520 (2009) |
op_relation |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19771154/pdf/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 https://doaj.org/article/22fc598c9d964a70b3a0fd35b1d56e57 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000520 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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9 |
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