The aim of this study was to analyse the infection dynamics of
Angiostrongylus cantonensis
in its possible intermediate
hosts over two years in an urban area in the state of Rio de Janeiro where the presence of
A. cantonensis had
been previously recorded in molluscs. Four of the seven mollusc species found in the study were exotic.
Bradybaena similaris
was the most abundant, followed by
Achatina fulica,
Streptaxis sp.,
Subulina octona,
Bulimulus tenuissimus,
Sarasinula linguaeformis and
Leptinaria unilamellata. Only
A. fulica and
B. similaris were parasitised by
A. cantonensis
and both presented co-infection with other helminths. The prevalence of
A. cantonensis in
A. fulica was more
than 50% throughout the study. There was an inverse correlation between the population size of
A. fulica and the
prevalence of
A. cantonensis and abundance of the latter was negatively related to rainfall. The overall prevalence of
A. cantonensis in
B. similaris was 24.6%.
A. fulica was the most important intermediary host of
A. cantonensis in the
studied area and
B. similaris was secondary in importance for
A. cantonensis transmission dynamics.
