TY - JOUR AU - Rael, Rosalyn AU - Peterson, Anna AU - Ghersi-Chavez, Bruno AU - Riegel, Claudia AU - Lesen, Amy AU - Blum, Michael T1 - Rat Lungworm Infection in Rodents across Post-Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana, USA T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2018 VL - 24 IS - 12 SP - 2176 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), a parasitic nematode that can cause eosinophilic meningitis in humans, was first detected in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, in the mid-1980s and now appears to be widespread in the southeastern United States. We assessed the distribution, prevalence, and intensity of A. cantonensis infection in New Orleans by examining lung biopsy samples of rodents trapped at 96 sites in 9 areas in Orleans Parish and 1 area in neighboring St. Bernard Parish during May 2015 through February 2017. These areas were selected to capture contrasting levels of income, flooding, and pos-disaster landscape management after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We detected A. cantonensis in all areas and in 3 of the 4 rat species trapped. Overall prevalence was ≈38% but varied by area, host species, and host species co-occurrence. Infection intensity also varied by host species. These findings suggest that socioecological analysis of heterogeneity in definitive and intermediate host infection could improve understanding of health risks across the city. KW - parasites KW - nematode infections KW - urban health KW - meningitis KW - helminths KW - ecology KW - rats KW - New Orleans KW - Louisiana KW - rodents KW - meningitis/encephalitis KW - zoonoses KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid2412.180056 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/24/12/18-0056_article ER - End of Reference