Summary
In this paper the first record of the medically important nematode parasite,Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is made from Egypt. A survey of eight species of freshwater gastropods collected from natural water courses and of three species of wild rats caught from the same areas revealed respectively, that the ampullariid snailLanistes carinatus acts as the intermediate host transmitting this parasite, and that the ratRattus norvegicus is its definitive host.
The life cycle of the parasite was successfully completed through experimental infection of laboratory bred albino rats with third-stage larvae, obtained from the above mentioned snail intermediate host. A morphological description of the adult worms and of all larval stages of the parasite is given.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alicata, J.E.:Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Merastrongylidae) as a causative agent of eosinophilic meningitis of man in Hawaii and Tahiti. Can. J. Zool.40, 5–8 (1962)
Alicata, J.E.: Morphological and biological differences betwween the infective larvae ofAngiostrongylus cantonensis and those ofAnafilaroides rostratus. Can. J. Zool.41, 1179–1183 (1963)
Alicata, J.E.: Biology and distribution of the rat lungworm,Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and its relation to eosinophilic meningitis and other neurological disorders of man and animals. In: Advances in Parasitology, Dawes, B. ed., vol. 3, pp. 223–248. London and New York: Academic Press 1965
Alicata, J.E.: The gubernaculum ofAngiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen). J. Parasitol.54, 1193 (1968)
Alicata, J.E.: On the identity ofAngiostrongylus from rats in Brisbane, Australia, and on the life history ofA. cantonensis. J. Parasitol.55, 323 (1969)
Alicata, J.E., Jindrak, K.: Angiostrongylosis in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. 105 pp. Springfield, Ill.: Thomas 1970
Ash, L.R.:Angiostrongylus michiganensis sp. n. (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea), a lungworm occurring in the shrew,Sorex cinereus cinereus, in Michigan. J. Parasitol.53, 625–629 (1967)
Ash, L.R.: Diagnostic morphology of the third-stage larvae ofAngiostrongylus cantonensis, Angiostrongylus vasorum, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, andAnafilaroides rostratus (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea). J. Parasitol.56, 249–253 (1970)
Bhaibulaya, M.: A new species ofAngiostrongylus in an Australian rat,Rattus fuscipes. Parasitology58, 789–799 (1968)
Bhaibulaya, M.: Comparative studies on the life history ofAngiostrongylus mackerrasae Bhaibulaya 1968 andA cantonensis (Chen, 1935). Int. J. Parasitol.5, 7–20 (1975)
Chen, H.T.: Un nouveau nématode pulmonaire,Pulmonema cantonensis n.g., n. sp., des rats de canton. Ann. Parasitol. Hum. Comp.13, 312–317 (1935)
Dougherty, E.C.: The genusAelurostrongylus, Cameron 1927 (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae), and its relatives; with the description ofParafilaroides, gen. nov., andAngiostrongylus gubernaculatus, sp. nov. Proc. helminth. Soc. Wash.13, 16–26 (1946)
Kinsella, J.M.:Angiostrongylus schmidti sp. n. (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) from the rice rat,Oryzonys palustris in Florida, with a key to the species ofAngiostrongylus Kamensky, 1905. J. Parasitol.57, 494–497 (1971)
Mackerras, M.J., Sandars, D.F.: The life history of the rat lungwormAngiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen) (Nematoda: Metastrongylidae). Aust. J. Zool.3, 1–25 (1955)
Punyagupta, S.: Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in Thailand: Summary of nine cases and observations ofAngiostrongylus cantonensis as a causative agent andPila ampullacea as a new intermediate host. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg.14, 370–374 (1965)
Richards, C.S., Merritt, J.W.: Studies onAngiostrongylus cantonensis in molluscan intermediate hosts. J. Parasitol.53, 382–388 (1967)
Rosen, L., Chappell, R., Laqueur, G.L., Wallace, G.D., Weinstein, P.P.: Eosinophilic meningoencephalitis caused by a metastrongylid lungworm of rats. J. Am. Med. Assoc.179, 620–624 (1962)
Rosen, L., Laigret, J., Bories, S.: Observations on an outbreak of eosinophilic meningitis on Tahiti, French Polynesia. Am. J. Hyg.74, 26–42 (1961)
Skrjabin, K.I., Shikhobalova, N.P., Schults, R.S., Popova, T.I., Boev, S.N., Delyamure, S.L.: Essentials of nematodology, Vol. 3, Strongylata. (Transl. of 1952), 890 pp., Washington, D.C. 1961
Weinstein, P.P., Rosen, L., Laqueur G.L., Sawyer, T.K.:Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection in rats and rhesus monkeys, and observations on the survival of the parasite in vitro. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg.12, 358–377 (1963)
Yamaguti, S.: Systema helminthum Vol. III, The nematodes of vertebrates, New York. 1261 pp. Interscience Publ. 1961
Yousif, F., Lämmler, G.: The effect of some biological and physical factors on infection ofBiomphalaria glabrata withAngiostrongylus cantonensis. Z. Parasitenkd.47, 191–201 (1975a)
Yousif, F., Lämmler, G.: The suitability of several aquatic snails as intermediate hosts forAngiostrongylus cantonensis. Z. Parasitenkd.47, 203–210 (1975b)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yousif, F., Ibrahim, A. The first record ofAngiostrongylus cantonensis from Egypt. Z. Parasitenkd. 56, 73–80 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00925940
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00925940