To date, 21 species of the genus
Angiostrongylus
(Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) have been reported around the
world, 15 of which are parasites of rodents. In this study, new host, geographic records, and histopathologic studies of
Angiostrongylus spp in sigmodontine rodents from Argentina, with an updated summary of records from rodent hosts
and host specificity assessment, are provided. Records of
Angiostrongylus costaricensis from
Akodon montensis and
Angiostrongylus morerai from six new hosts and geographical localities in Argentina are reported. The gross and histopathologic
changes in the lungs of the host species due to angiostrongylosis are described. Published records of the
genus
Angiostrongylus from rodents and patterns of host specificity are presented. Individual
Angiostrongylus species
parasitise between one-19 different host species. The most frequent values of the specificity index (S
TD) were between
1-5.97. The elevated number of host species (n = 7) of
A. morerai with a S
TD = 1.86 is a reflection of multiple systematic
studies of parasites from sigmodontine rodents in the area of Cuenca del Plata, Argentina, showing that an increase in
sampling effort can result in new findings. The combination of low host specificity and a wide geographic distribution of
Angiostrongylus spp indicates a troubling epidemiological scenario although, as yet, no human cases have been reported.
