Welcome to the ICOPA 2022 Online Program

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Angiostrongylus costaricensis is a zoonotic nematode that causes a life-threatening pathology in humans, especially school-aged children, known as abdominal angiostrongyliasis. Since its description in 1971, A. costaricensis has been detected in 24 countries in the Americas in a plethora of mollusk intermediate hosts, in several mammal species acting as definitive hosts and in human cases. The latter are considered as accidental hosts, in which a strong eosinophilic response towards adult worms located in ileocecal and mesenteric arteries is elicited.
In the last 50 years, most research has focused in ecological and epidemiological aspects of A. costaricensis, protein profiling of the worms and pathology of the infection. Still, surgical resection of affected tissues remains as the most efficient strategy to treat abdominal angiostrongyliasis and histopathological analysis as the gold standard for diagnosing the infection. Therefore, we highlight major knowledge gaps in the evolutionary history of this species, the role of imported and invasive mollusk species and the lag in -omic analyses.
In 2021, physicians, microbiologists, biologists, ecologists and veterinarians from Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba and the United States created “AcosNET”, an interdisciplinary network for tackling these challenging questions. With this interdisciplinary approach, we expect to promote a better understanding of the biology of A. costaricensis, host-pathogen interactions and possibly novel ways to treat and diagnose abdominal angiostrongyliasis.

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Angiostrongylus vasorum has shown great ability to spread among dog and wild carnivore populations in the past two decades, anticipating its conquest of further areas. The clinical relevance in dogs justifies an increased disease awareness. Due to the massive production of first stage larvae released into the alveolar lung tissues by the adult parasites and the subsequent inflammatory reaction, pneumonia and respiratory signs dominate in dogs with angiostrongylosis. However, dogs may present with several further clinical also non-specific signs, so that the parasite can be considered as ‘Great Imitator’. Especially neurological signs and coagulopathies contribute to the severity of the clinical picture. There are various fascinating interactions between host and parasite explaining the occurrence of bleeding events, which in turn may cause neurological issues. A plethora of diagnostic tools can support veterinarians in identifying infected animals: routine and advanced imaging procedures illustrate the extent of the affected tissues, while classical coproscopic and genetic procedures together with serological methods have different sensitivities and specificities. Once diagnosed, appropriate therapeutic and preventive measures are implemented. Therefore, despite the successful i) unstoppable spreading, ii) clinical relevance, and iii) host-parasite interaction of Angiostrongylus vasorum, animal owners and veterinarians can counteract the deleterious effects of this parasite.

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Among the plethora of metastrongylid nematodes, A. cantonensis attracts a lot of attention due to two reasons: association with ubiquitous invasive hosts and health consequences of zoonotic transmissions. As a typical zoonosis with strong influence of complex parasite and host ecology on infection burden in human population, A. cantonensis is a true “ambassador” of necessity of One Health approach. Undoubtedly, the parasite belongs among most opportunistic parasitic nematodes regarding the hosts spectrum, which results in complex circulation in ecosystems. Humans are voracious omnivorous primates, and the issue of food is central to human ecology as well as to human culture. Infection by A. cantonensis in humans (as purely accidental hosts) strongly depends on local cultural habits and involvement of intermediate and/or paratenic (or transport) hosts in the diet. The same way, wild and domestic animals in endemic areas enter the life cycle in various manner and consequences of “flow” of A. cantonensis through food chains are unpredictable. Main aim of the talk is summarizing the knowledge on the A. cantonensis life cycle and definition of major knowledge gaps, that hamper understanding of epidemiology in human and animals in local context.