Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm, infects a wide range of vertebrate animals, including humans, in which it causes a particularly severe type of larva migrans. It is an important cause ...of severe neurologic disease (neural larva migrans NLM) but also causes ocular disease (OLM; diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis DUSN), visceral larva migrans (VLM), and covert/asymptomatic infections. B. procyonis is common and widespread in raccoons, and there is increasing recognition of human disease, making a clinical consideration of baylisascariasis important. This review provides an update for this disease, especially its clinical relevance and diagnosis, and summarizes the clinical cases of human NLM and VLM known to date. Most diagnosed patients have been young children less than 2 years of age, although the number of older patients diagnosed in recent years has been increasing. The recent development of recombinant antigen-based serodiagnostic assays has aided greatly in the early diagnosis of this infection. Patients recovering with fewer severe sequelae have been reported in recent years, reinforcing the current recommendation that early treatment with albendazole and corticosteroids should be initiated at the earliest suspicion of baylisascariasis. Considering the seriousness of this zoonotic infection, greater public and medical awareness is critical for the prevention and early treatment of human cases.
Dogs and cats are hosts to hookworms that may cause zoonotic disease, most notably, cutaneous larva migrans. Ancylostoma braziliense is most often implicated in dermatological lesions, and ...Ancylostoma caninum has been associated with eosinophilic enteritis and suggested as a possible cause of diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis in humans. Other manifestations include eosinophilic pneumonitis, localized myositis, folliculitis, erythema multiforme, or ophthalmological manifestations. Ancylostoma eggs are morphologically indistinguishable, which complicates epidemiological studies. Surveys of dermatologists, gastroenterologists, and ophthalmologists would help to define the incidence of these zoonotic infections. Improved diagnostic tests are needed to identify the causative species involved and understand the epidemiology of hookworm disease. This review describes the discovery of the disease, the biology of the agents, and how that biology may impact disease.
Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati of dogs and cats, respectively, can cause significant disease in people. Human seroprevalence for Toxocara antibodies varies with factors such as geographic location, ...socio-economic status, and dietary habits. Risk factors for infection include geophagia and low-level education. Toxocara canis is better recognized as a cause of human toxocariasis, but Toxocara cati should not be overlooked. In addition, patent infections with Baylisascaris procyonis , the raccoon ascarid, have been increasingly recognized in dogs. Pet owners need to be properly educated about zoonotic risks, and veterinarians should institute regular parasite screening and treatment for all pets. Establishment of national surveillance programs to determine the incidence and specific etiological agent in human larva migrans patients would aid in the development of targeted intervention strategies.
•cantonensis is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in southern Asia.•cantonensis can also cause encephalitis, encephalomyelitis and ocular disease.•Eosinophilic inflammation caused by ...dead larvae in the brain explains the pathogenesis.•Main clinical features are headache, fever, stiff neck, paraesthesias and vomiting.•We also review the treatment, prevention and prognosis of A. cantonesis infection.
Over 20 species of Angiostrongylus have been described from around the world, but only Angiostrongylus cantonensis has been confirmed to cause central nervous system disease in humans. A neurotropic parasite that matures in the pulmonary arteries of rats, A. cantonensis is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in southern Asia and the Pacific and Caribbean islands. The parasite can also cause encephalitis/encephalomyelitis and rarely ocular angiostrongyliasis. The present paper reviews the life cycle, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and prognosis of A. cantonesis infection. Emphasis is given on the spectrum of central nervous system manifestations and disease pathogenesis.
After severe neurocognitive decline developed in an otherwise healthy 63-year-old man, brain magnetic resonance imaging showed eosinophilic meningoencephalitis and enhancing lesions. The patient ...tested positive for antibodies to Baylisascaris spp. roundworms, was treated with albendazole and dexamethasone, and showed improvement after 3 months. Baylisascariasis should be considered for all patients with eosinophilic meningitis.
Infection by Baylisascaris procyonis is an uncommon but devastating cause of eosinophilic meningitis. We report the first case-patient, to our knowledge, who recovered from B. procyonis eosinophilic ...meningitis without any recognizable neurologic deficits. The spectrum of illness for this organism may be wider than previously recognized.
The objective of this study was to develop polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for detection of Baylisascaris procyonis eggs and larvae in fecal, environmental, and tissue samples. We have ...optimized conventional and real-time PCR assays for B. procyonis using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 2 gene as the target for amplification. The lower limit of detection of the parasite genomic DNA was 10 pg in the conventional PCR and 100 fg in the real-time PCR. In both PCR assays, specific amplification of a 146 bp product was achieved with DNA extracted from a single in vitro hatched B. procyonis larva and also from canine fecal samples spiked with as few as 20 unembryonated B. procyonis eggs per gram of feces. The PCR assays were successfully used for detection of B. procyonis eggs and larvae in fecal, environmental, and tissue samples. No DNA amplification was seen when the genomic DNA of related ascarids (including B. transfuga) and a hookworm was used as template in the PCR; however, amplification was seen with the very closely related B. columnaris.
Is it canine DUSN? Aguirre, Gustavo D.; Kazacos, Kevin R.
Veterinary ophthalmology,
03/2022, Letnik:
25, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract
The term retinopathy has been used to group several heterogeneous retinal abnormalities that are clearly acquired or are suspected/proposed to be inherited. Some share characteristic ...focal/multifocal hyperreflective tapetal lesions with a dark center, and areas of non‐tapetal depigmentation suggestive of patchy or diffuse outer retinal atrophy. Progression is variable, and some develop unilateral or bilateral fundus changes resembling the clearly inherited form of retinal degeneration referred to as PRA. In this Commentary and Review, we discuss the role of ocular larva migrans resulting in the entity we refer to as canine DUSN and suggest that it may be responsible for some of the retinal findings grouped under the retinopathy rubric that share this characteristic fundus lesion.
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