First Evidence of Angiostrongyliasis Caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles - PubMed (original) (raw)

Case Reports

. 2017 Mar;96(3):692-697.

doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0792. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

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Case Reports

First Evidence of Angiostrongyliasis Caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles

Céline Dard et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Infection by the rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis represents the most common cause of infectious eosinophilic meningitis in humans, causing central nervous system (CNS) angiostrongyliasis. Most of CNS angiostrongyliasis cases were described in Asia, Pacific Basin, Australia, and some limited parts of Africa and America. CNS angiostrongyliasis has been reported in the Caribbean but never in the Lesser Antilles. The primary objectives of this study were to depict the first case of CNS angiostrongyliasis in the Lesser Antilles and investigate the environmental presence of A. cantonensis in Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles. In December 2013, a suspected case of CNS angiostrongyliasis in an 8-month-old infant in Guadeloupe was investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). The environmental investigation was performed by collecting Achatina fulica molluscs from different parts of Guadeloupe and testing the occurrence of A. cantonensis by real-time PCR. CSF from the suspected case of angiostrongyliasis was positive for A. cantonensis by real-time PCR. Among 34 collected snails for environmental investigation, 32.4% were positive for A. cantonensis. In conclusion, we report the first laboratory-confirmed case of CNS-angiostrongyliasis in the Lesser Antilles. We identified the presence and high prevalence of A. cantonensis in A. fulica in Guadeloupe. These results highlight the need to increase awareness of this disease and implement public health programs in the region to prevent human cases of angiostrongyliasis and improve management of eosinophilic meningitis patients.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Geographic distribution of angiostrongyliasis cases and presence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in gastropods and rats in America and Antilles in the past four decades.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Distribution of the collected Achatina fulica in Guadeloupe for environmental investigation. The geographical map of Guadeloupe shows the distribution of collected snails for environmental investigation. In total, 34 A. fulica snails were collected from Basse-Terre (latitude: 16.01°N, longitude: 61.72°W) and Trois-Rivières (latitude: 15.97°N, longitude: 61.64°W) cities in February 2014.

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