Angiostrongylus vasorum
Angiostrongylus vasorum, also known as French heartworm, is a species of parasitic nematode in the family Metastrongylidae. It causes the disease canine angiostrongylosis in dogs.
Not much is known about the biology of this species.[1]
Description
These nematode worms are small and pinkish in color.[2] The length is 14.0–20.5 mm.[2] The width is 0.170-0.306 mm.[2]
Hosts
The natural intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus vasorum are land slugs, land snails and freshwater snails.[3] Angiostrongylus vasorum shows little host specificity in its intermediate host.[4]
Natural definitive hosts are domestic dogs[3] and various other carnivores include[5]:
Angiostrongylus vasorum lives in the right ventricle of the heart and the pulmonary artery.[3] The infection can be fatal in dogs.[6]
Natural paratenic hosts can be frogs, lizards, mice, rats.[3]
Experimental intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus vasorum include:
Other known experimental (only experimental?) hosts include[2]:
- slugs: Arion vulgaris (referred as Arion lusitanicus), Arion hortensis, Deroceras reticulatum, Limax flavus, Laevicaulis alte.
- land snails: Achatina fulica, Arianta arbustorum, Bradybaena similaris, Cepaea nemoralis, Cochlodina laminata, Eceparypha physana, Helix pomatia, Helix aspersa, Prosopeas javanicum, Subulina octona, Succinea putris.
- freshwater snails: Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Physa sp.
Experimental definitive hosts of Angiostrongylus vasorum include:
Distribution
The native area (enzootic) of Angiostrongylus vasorum is Western Europe (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain).[3][6]
Other known areas include
- Europe: Denmark,[9] Germany, Italy, Switzerland[6] and Portugal[5]
- Africa: Uganda[6]
- Asia: Turkey and countries of the former USSR[6]
- Northern America: Canada (Newfoundland[6]), the United States[3]
Larvae of the first stage were found in Australia,[3] Argentina and Greece.[2]
The area where this species is found is expanding.[1]
It has also been reported from South America: Brazil and Colombia,[6] but molecular analysis revealed that Angiostrongylus vasorum from Brazil has a different genotype.[5] Thus it is possible that it is a different species in Brazil and in elsewhere in South America.[5]
Treatment
Levamisole, fenbendazole and ivermectin have been used to treat dogs infected with canine angiostrongylosis, but there are no approved anthelmintics.[2]
References
- ^ a b Morgan E. R., Shaw S. E., Brennan S. F., Waal T. D. De, Jones B. R. & Mulcahy G. (February 2005) "Angiostrongylus vasorum: a real heartbreaker". Trends in Parasitology 21(2): 49-51. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2004.11.006
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Conboy G. A. (30 May 2000) "Canine Angiostrongylosis (French Heartworm)". In: Bowman D. D. (Ed.) Companion and Exotic Animal Parasitology. International Veterinary Information Service. Accessed 24 November 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Barçante T. A., Barçante J. M. de P., Dias S. R. C. & Lima W. d. S. (December 2003) "Angiostrongylus vasorum (Baillet, 1866) Kamensky, 1905: emergence of third-stage larvae from infected Biomphalaria glabrata snails". Parasitology Research 91(6): 471-475. doi:10.1007/s00436-003-1000-9.
- ^ Boray J. C. (1973) "The role of the relative susceptibility of snails to infection with helminths and of the adaptation of the parasites in the epidemiology of some helminthic deseases". Malacologia 14: 125-127.
- ^ a b c d Jefferies R., Shaw S. E., Viney M. E., Morgan E. R. (January 2009) "Angiostrongylus vasorum from South America and Europe represent distinct lineages". Parasitology 136(1): 107-115.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bourque A., Conboy G., Miller L., Whitney H. & Ralhan S. (November 2002) "Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in 2 dogs from Newfoundland". Canadian Veterinary Journal 43(11): 876-879. PMC PMC339763
- ^ Torres J., Miquel J. & Motjé M. (April 2001) "Helminth parasites of the eurasian badger (Meles meles L.) in Spain: a biogeographic approach. Parasitology Research 87(4): 259-263. PubMed.
- ^ Pereira C. A. J., Martins-Souza R. L., Coelho P. M. Z., Lima W. S. & Negrão-Corrêa D. (July 2006) "Effect of Angiostrongylus vasorum infection on Biomphalaria tenagophila susceptibility to Schistosoma mansoni". Acta Tropica 98(3): 224-233. doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2006.05.002.
- ^ Ferdushy T. Kapel C. M. O., Webster P., Al-Sabi M. N. S. & Grønvold J. (December 2009, online 22 May 2009) "The occurrence of Angiostrongylus vasorum in terrestrial slugs from forests and parks in the Copenhagen area, Denmark". Journal of Helminthology 83(4): 379-383.doi:10.1017/S0022149X09377706.
Further reading
- Ash L. R. (April 1970) "Diagnostic morphology of the third-stage larvae of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Angiostrongylus vasorum, Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, and Anafilaroides rostratus (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea)". Journal of Parasitology 56(2): 249. PubMed.
- Braga F. R., Carvalho R. O., Araujo J. M., Silva A. R., Araújo J. V., Lima W. S., Tavela A. O. & Ferreira S. R. (December 2009, online 16 February 2009) "Predatory activity of the fungi Duddingtonia flagrans, Monacrosporium thaumasium, Monacrosporium sinense and Arthrobotrys robusta on Angiostrongylus vasorum first-stage larvae". Journal of Helminthology , 83(4): 303-308 doi:10.1017/S0022149X09232342.
- Nicolle A. P., Chetboul V., Tessier-Vetzel D., Sampedrano C. C., Aletti E. & Pouchelon J.-L. (August 2006) "Severe pulmonary arterial hypertension due to Angiostrongylosus vasorum in a dog". Canadian Veterinary Journal 47(8): 792-795. PMC PMC1524835
- Perry A. W., Hertling R. & Kennedy M. J. (July 1991) "Angiostrongylosis with disseminated larval infection associated with signs of ocular and nervous disease in an imported dog". Canadian Veterinary Journal 32(7): 430-431. PMC PMC1480994
- Traversa D., Cesare A. Di & Conboy G. (2010). "Canine and feline cardiopulmonary parasitic nematodes in Europe: emerging and underestimated". Parasites & Vectors 3: 62. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-3-62.
External links