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Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm) in Florida, USA: current status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2020

Heather D. S. Walden Open the ORCID record for Heather D. S. Walden [Opens in a new window] ,
John Slapcinsky ,
Justin Rosenberg  and
James F. X. Wellehan
Heather D. S. Walden*
Affiliation:
University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Comparative, Diagnostic and Population Medicine, 1945 SW 16th Ave, PO Box 110123, Gainesville, FL, USA32608
John Slapcinsky
Affiliation:
Univeristy of Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA32611
Justin Rosenberg
Affiliation:
Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 Zoo Boulevard, Wichita, KS, USA67212
James F. X. Wellehan
Affiliation:
University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Comparative, Diagnostic and Population Medicine, 1945 SW 16th Ave, PO Box 110123, Gainesville, FL, USA32608
*
Author for correspondence: Heather D. S. Walden, E-mail: hdstockdale@ufl.edu
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Abstract

Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been found in Florida, USA, from the panhandle in the north to Miami and surrounding areas in the southern parts of the state, in both definitive and intermediate hosts in a limited studies completed in 2015. Additional studies have identified this parasite in a variety of intermediate hosts, both native and non-native gastropod species, with new host species recorded. Many areas in Florida with higher A. cantonensis prevalence were those with a high human population density, which suggests it is a matter of time before human infections occur in Florida. Case reports in the state currently involve non-human primates and include a gibbon and orangutan in Miami. Here, we report the current status of A. cantonensis in the state, as well as the infection in a capuchin monkey and presumptive infection in a red ruffed lemur in Gainesville, Florida.

Keywords

Angiostrongylus cantonensisBradybaena similarisFloridarat lungwormratsZachrysia provisoria
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 148 , Special Issue 2: 6th International Workshop on Angiostrongylus and Angiostrongyliasis, Hilo, Hawai'i, USA, January, 2020 , February 2021 , pp. 149 - 152
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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