Abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas: fifty years since the discovery of a new metastrongylid species, Angiostrongylus costaricensis

Laboratory of Helminthology, Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, University of Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Laboratory of Helminthology, Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, University of Costa Rica,. San José, Costa Rica.
Instituto de Patologia e Biologia Molecular de Passo Fundo. Escola de Medicina. IMED. Passo Fundo, RS, Brasil.
Instituto de Patologia e Biologia Molecular de Passo Fundo. Escola de Medicina. IMED. Passo Fundo, RS, Brasil.
Laboratory of Helminthology, Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, University of Costa Rica. San José, Costa Rica.
National Reference Center of Parasitology, Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud. Cartago, Costa Rica.
National Reference Center of Parasitology, Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud. Cartago, Costa Rica.
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Núcleo de Doenças Infecciosas. Vitória, ES, Brasil.

Abstract

Angiostrongylus costaricensis is a zoonotic parasitic nematode described for the first time in 1971 by Pedro Morera and Rodolfo Céspedes in Costa Rica. This parasite causes an infection known as abdominal angiostrongyliasis, affecting mainly school-aged children and young adults. Infection with A. costaricensis has been associated with a myriad of rodent and mollusk species in the Americas and the Caribbean, as its natural hosts and reservoirs. In this commemorative review, we highlight the extensive research collected through a 50-year journey, which includes ecological, pathological, and molecular studies on A. costaricensis and its implicated disease. We also identify major knowledge gaps in its evolutionary history, the ecological role of imported and invasive mollusk species, and immune response. We propose that the advent of -omics analyses will allow us to gather novel information regarding A. costaricensis biology and infection dynamics, as well as to promote the design of much-needed sensitive and specific diagnostic tools.

Keywords in Portuguese

Angiostrongylus costaricensis
Angiostrongilíase abdominal
Enterite eosinofílica
Zoonose
Helmintíase

Keywords

Angiostrongylus costaricensis
Abdominal angiostrongyliasis
Eosinophilic enteritis
Zoonosis
Helminthiasis

Publisher

BMC

Citation

ROJAS, Alicia et al. Abdominal angiostrongyliasis in the Americas: fifty years since the discovery of a new metastrongylid species, Angiostrongylus costaricensis. Parasites & Vectors, v. 14, n. 374, p. 1-19, 2021.

DOI

10.1186/s13071-021-04875-3

ISSN

1756-3305

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/50099

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