ANGIOSTRONGLYUS CANTONENSIS

CN: Rat lungworm LIFE CYCLE

or Rodent
lungworm
Disease:
Angiostrongyliodiasis
or Eosinophilic
Meningoencephalitis
in man
MORPHOLOGY
-The adult worm,
which filiform, has a
length of 17 to 25 mm
-Male worm, measure
16 to 22 mm in length
and 0.25 to 9.35 mm.
-Female worm,
measure of 19 to 33 Transmitted through ingestion of
mm in length and 0.28 to 0.50 mm. infected intermediate hosts such
as snails, slugs, and
Male: Bean shaped bursa contaminated produce.
Female: larger and thicker than the
male, the posterior end shaped
somewhat like a bluntly ending horn Rat lungworm:
 EPIDEMIOLOGY:
PATHOLOGY:
• Incubation period for this The angiostrongylus cantonensis
infection is from 12-47 days can be found in
-Achatina fulica (giant Japanese
• Clinical picture of eosinophilic snails)
meningoencephalitis is one of - Pila luzonica (kuhol)
acute onset of severe headache, - Parathelpusa mistio (talangka)
low grade fever, nausea and - Brotia asperata (suso)
vomiting. Other clinical - Garden slugs
manifestations include stiffness of - Fresh water prawns
the neck, weakness of the hands - Water and vegetables
and legs and abdominal pain.
PREVENTION AND CONTROL:
• During the illness patient may
exhibit increasing confusion or - Careful washing and cooking of
incoherence, disorientation and vegetables, thorough cooking of
impairment of memory or prawns and crabs and avoidance
profound coma of ingestion of raw Achatina fulica
snails and slugs.
- Elimination of the snail and slug
intermediate host
LABOARATORY DIAGNOSIS: - Rodent eradication may help
- Difficult to diagnose the prevent human infection
infection.
- In areas where the disease is
endemic, people showing brain TREATMENT:
dyscrasia and has moderate or Mebendazol, and Albendazole
high eosinophilic counts in the
CSF should be considered as
potential victim.
- History of the patient as to
ingestion of possible intermediate
hosts should be considered -no
immunologic test has been
developed yet for infection, Post-
mortem examination must be
done on persons suspected of
dying with infection to search for
the worms.