Prevalence and distribution of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda, Angiostrongylidae) in Achatina fulica (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in Baixada Santista, São Paulo, Brazil

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Laura Rocha Guerino, Iracy Lea Pecora, Marcel Sabino Miranda, Cryslaine Aguiar-Silva, Omar dos Santos Carvalho, Roberta Lima Caldeira, Reinaldo José da Silva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Rat lungworm; Giant African snail; Eosinophilic meningitis; Nematode; Emerging parasitosis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0316-2016; https://doaj.org/article/5588ab0ccbd94776aa801a9129b70d75

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Angiostrongylus cantonensis is causes eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. Worldwide expansion of this nematode is linked to the dispersion of their hosts. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of A. cantonensis infection in Achatina fulica in the nine municipalities that make up Baixada Santista, São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae were analyzed using optical microscopy. We performed polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism using restriction endonuclease ClaI, directed to the internal transcribed spacer region 2 of A. cantonensis larval DNA. RESULTS Of the 540 snails analyzed, 117 (21.7%) were infected by A. cantonensis. For morphological and morphometric analyses, 60 larvae were used. Second-stage larvae were, on average, 358.2µm long and 26.4µm wide, while third-stage larvae were, on average, 450µm long and 21.12µm wide. The tails of the larvae ended in a fine tip. CONCLUSIONS All municipalities comprising Baixada Santista had A. fulica that were naturally infected with A. cantonensis. All of the observed characteristics were typical of the species.