TY - JOUR AU - Delgado-Serra, Sofia AU - Sola, Jessica AU - Negre, Nieves AU - Paredes-Esquivel, Claudia T1 - Angiostrongylus cantonensis Nematode Invasion Pathway, Mallorca, Spain T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2022 VL - 28 IS - 6 SP - 1163 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Neural angiostrongyliasis is an emerging zoonosis caused by the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis. In humans, infection with this nematode often results in eosinophilic meningitis and other severe disorders of the central nervous system. Europe was deemed a nonendemic region until 2018, when A. cantonensis worms were detected on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Spain, a tourism hotspot. Since that time, a sentinel surveillance system and a molecular approach have been used to follow the invasion path of the rat lungworm on the island. A. cantonensis worms have been found in animals from 8 locations on the island over 3 consecutive years. Our preliminary results show a recognizable pattern of clinical signs in infected hedgehogs and a single mitochondrial haplotype circulating in Mallorca. We present strong evidence confirming that the rat lungworm has successfully established and colonized an island in Europe and discuss observations and possible strategies for its early detection across continental Europe. KW - Angiostrongylus cantonensis KW - infection KW - angiostrongyliasis KW - human eosinophilic meningitis KW - meningitis/encephalitis KW - rat lungworm infection KW - helminths KW - parasites KW - sentinel species KW - animal diseases KW - central nervous system KW - parasitic infections KW - nematodes KW - invasion pathway KW - vector-borne infections KW - hedgehogs KW - zoonoses KW - Mallorca KW - Spain DO - 10.3201/eid2806.212344 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/6/21-2344_article ER - End of Reference