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. 2015 Jul 14;4(3):323-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.06.003. eCollection 2015 Dec.

A survey of Angiostrongylus species in definitive hosts in Queensland

Mahdis Aghazadeh  1 , Simon A Reid  2 , Kieran V Aland  3 , Angela Cadavid Restrepo  4 , Rebecca J Traub  5 , James S McCarthy  6 , Malcolm K Jones  1
Affiliations

A survey of Angiostrongylus species in definitive hosts in Queensland

Mahdis Aghazadeh et al. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. .

Abstract

Despite the recent sporadic reports of angiostrongyliasis in humans, dogs and wildlife in eastern Australia there has been no systematic study to explore the epidemiology of Angiostrongylus spp. in definitive and intermediate hosts in the region. Little is known about the epidemiology of Angiostrongylus species in the definitive host in southeast Queensland, since the only survey conducted in this region was performed in the late 1960s. In this study, free-living populations of Rattus spp. were sampled and examined for the presence of adult and larval Angiostrongylus in the lungs, and of larvae in faeces. The prevalence of infection with Angiostrongylus spp. was 16.5% in Rattus spp. trapped in urban Brisbane and surrounds. This prevalence is much higher than estimates of earlier studies. This highlights the possible risk of zoonotic infection in children, dogs and wildlife in this region and indicates the necessity for public awareness as well as more detailed epidemiological studies on this parasite in eastern Australia.

Keywords: Angiostrongylus cantonensis; Angiostrongylusmackerrasae; Australia; Rat lungworm; Rattus rattus; Southeast Queensland.

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Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Images of two principal Rattus spp., Angiostrongylus cantonensis and its putative intermediate host from a survey conducted in Brisbane, Australia, 2012–2014. A: Rattus rattus was the most prevalent species of rat found in this survey. B: Rattus fuscipes. C: Adult A. cantonensis in pulmonary arteries of Rattus rattus. D: Helix aspersa found is Brisbane harbouring Angiostrongylus larvae.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Adult Angiostrongylus spp. recovered from pulmonary arteries of Rattus rattus (A. cantonensis) and Rattus fuscipes (A. mackerrasae) trapped in Brisbane, Australia, 2012–2015. A: Posterior end of female A. cantonensis; B: Posterior end of female A. mackerrasae: The distance between vulva and posterior end is very similar between the two species; C: Male A. cantonensis and D: Male A. mackerrasae: Spicule length is about 2.5 times longer in A. cantonensis.
Map 1
Map 1
Areas in Queensland, Australia (S23.0, E143.0) that sampling was performed for a survey of introduced and native Rattus spp for infection with Angiostrongylus spp., 2012–2015. NB: white circles represent locations where infected rats were trapped and black circles where uninfected rats were trapped.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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