Release of the third-stage larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis from Limax maximus under the stress stimulus

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62157124%3A16170%2F22%3A43880076" target="_blank" >RIV/62157124:16170/22:43880076 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Release of the third-stage larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis from Limax maximus under the stress stimulus

Original language description

The metastrongylid nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is known to cause severe eosinophilic meningitis in a variety of poikilothermic hosts including humans. The infective third-stage larvae develop in a number of gastropods as intermediate hosts. Humans are usually infected by intentional or incidental ingestion of an infected snail or paratenic host (reptiles, amphibians). However, infection may also hypothetically occur through ingestion of food or water contaminated with third-stage larvae spontaneously released by snails and slugs. Larvae are thought to be released in greater numbers from the intermediate host exposed to stress stimuli, but there is little experimental evidence for this. The objective of this study was to compare larval release from gastropods with and without stress stimuli. Slugs Limax maximus were experimentally infected with first stage A. cantonensis larvae for two weeks and exposed to a stress stimulus. For this purpose, slugs were placed in plastic boxes on a shaker (130 rpm) for 4 hours at room temperature. The mucus produced was collected before and after the stress and then examined microscopically and by real-time PCR for the presence of A. cantonensis larvae/DNA. At the end of the experiment, the presence of A. cantonensis larvae in the experimental snails and slugs was confirmed by digestion and microscopy. In parallel, endemic wild-caught snails Plutonia lamarckii from an endemic infection focus of A. cantonensis in Tenerife were treated and examined in the same way. Although no larvae were detected microscopically in the collected mucus, real-time PCR analysis confirmed the presence of A. cantonensis DNA in all experimental replicates, with no differences between stressed and non-stressed molluscs. Our results suggest the possibility of spontaneous larval release; however, increased larval release from snails under stress was not confirmed. Apparently, mild stress stimuli of an intensity comparable to handling snails are irrelevant to the epidemiology of human meningitis caused by A. cantonensis.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40301 - Veterinary science

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů