ABSTRACT
Angiostrongyliasis is caused by species of the nematode genus Angiostrongylus Kamensky, 1905. About 14 species of this genus infect animals (rodents and carnivores), but only two infect humans, and these are A. cantonensis (Chen, 1935) Dougherty, 1946 and A. costaricensis Morera and Cespedes, 1971. A. cantonensis was first reported and described from Canton, China, and it appears that its geographical distribution covers China, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Formosa, Australia, and some islands of the Pacific. A. costaricensis has so far been reported from humans and rodents in Costa Rica and rodents in Panama and Texas. A. cantonensis, being a metastrongyle nematode, utilizes a mollusc as an intermediate host and rats of various species as mammalian hosts. It is possible that humans contract the infection with A. cantonensis or A. costaricensis by larvae released from the molluscs (or other hosts) in water or on vegetables.
