Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs
The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a metastrongyloid nematode that causes neurological disorders in its accidental hosts, including humans. This invasive pathogen is native to Southeast Asia and adjacent regions and is gradually expanding its distribution to tropical and subtropical are...
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| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Parasitology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182023000781/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797659515571666944 |
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| author | Lucia Anettová Anna Šipková Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez Vivienne Velič David Modrý |
| author_facet | Lucia Anettová Anna Šipková Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez Vivienne Velič David Modrý |
| author_sort | Lucia Anettová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a metastrongyloid nematode that causes neurological disorders in its accidental hosts, including humans. This invasive pathogen is native to Southeast Asia and adjacent regions and is gradually expanding its distribution to tropical and subtropical areas with new foci discovered near temperate regions. The parasite has a complex life cycle with a range of gastropods serving as intermediate hosts. A broad spectrum of poikilotherm vertebrates and invertebrates can serve as paratenic hosts. Since it has already been demonstrated that other, non-zoonotic metastrongyloids can survive in their intermediate hosts during the winter, the aim of our study was to evaluate the survival of A. cantonensis third-stage larvae in experimentally infected slugs (Limax maximus) kept at 4.5–7°C for 60 days. Third-stage larvae of A. cantonensis survived the period of low temperature and remained capable of infecting definitive hosts (laboratory rats) afterwards, even though their numbers dropped significantly. These results suggest that further spread to higher latitudes or altitudes is possible in areas with sufficient abundance of definitive hosts, since low winter temperatures are not necessarily an obstacle to the spread of the parasite. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:16:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75254e96cb824efe97255d424fea7abc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0031-1820 1469-8161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:16:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Parasitology |
| spelling | doaj.art-75254e96cb824efe97255d424fea7abc2023-10-16T06:57:14ZengCambridge University PressParasitology0031-18201469-81612023-09-0115095095510.1017/S0031182023000781Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugsLucia Anettová0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8742-0216Anna Šipková1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6720-6679Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez2Vivienne Velič3David Modrý4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9649-6255Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicInstituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Toxicology, Legal and Forensic Medicine and Parasitology, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Canary Islands, SpainUniversity of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center of Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech RepublicThe rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a metastrongyloid nematode that causes neurological disorders in its accidental hosts, including humans. This invasive pathogen is native to Southeast Asia and adjacent regions and is gradually expanding its distribution to tropical and subtropical areas with new foci discovered near temperate regions. The parasite has a complex life cycle with a range of gastropods serving as intermediate hosts. A broad spectrum of poikilotherm vertebrates and invertebrates can serve as paratenic hosts. Since it has already been demonstrated that other, non-zoonotic metastrongyloids can survive in their intermediate hosts during the winter, the aim of our study was to evaluate the survival of A. cantonensis third-stage larvae in experimentally infected slugs (Limax maximus) kept at 4.5–7°C for 60 days. Third-stage larvae of A. cantonensis survived the period of low temperature and remained capable of infecting definitive hosts (laboratory rats) afterwards, even though their numbers dropped significantly. These results suggest that further spread to higher latitudes or altitudes is possible in areas with sufficient abundance of definitive hosts, since low winter temperatures are not necessarily an obstacle to the spread of the parasite.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182023000781/type/journal_articleAngiostrongylus cantonensisinvasive nematodeLimax maximusoverwintering |
| spellingShingle | Lucia Anettová Anna Šipková Elena Izquierdo-Rodriguez Vivienne Velič David Modrý Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs Parasitology Angiostrongylus cantonensis invasive nematode Limax maximus overwintering |
| title | Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs |
| title_full | Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs |
| title_fullStr | Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs |
| title_short | Rat lungworm survives winter: experimental overwintering of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in European slugs |
| title_sort | rat lungworm survives winter experimental overwintering of angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in european slugs |
| topic | Angiostrongylus cantonensis invasive nematode Limax maximus overwintering |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0031182023000781/type/journal_article |
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