ArticleParasites & vectors2016
Distribution of Angiostrongylus vasorum and its gastropod intermediate hosts along the rural-urban gradient in two cities in the United Kingdom, using real time PCR.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Monthly administrations of milbemycin oxime plus afoxolaner chewable tablets to prevent Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in dogs.Parasites & vectors · 2016Trial
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- Re-Evaluation of a Hyperendemic Focus of Metastrongyloid Lungworm Infections in Gastropod Intermediate Hosts in Southern Germany.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- PatentFrontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Organ Tropism ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Nationwide Seroprevalence Survey ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
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- Angiostrongylosis in Animals and Humans in Europe.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Co-Occurrence of Domestic Dogs and Gastropod Molluscs in Public Dog-Walking Spaces and Implications for Infection withAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Article
- Habitat Characteristics as Potential Drivers of thePathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Detection ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Conquering Switzerland: the emergence ofParasitology · 2020Article
- DNA Footprints: Using Parasites to Detect Elusive Animals, Proof of Principle in Hedgehogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Article
- The invasive giant African snail Lissachatina fulica as natural intermediate host of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus, Angiostrongylus vasorum, Troglostrongylus brevior, and Crenosoma vulpis in Colombia.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Article
- Molecular detection of Angiostrongylus vasorum in gastropods in Surrey, UK.Parasitology research · 2019Article
- Identification and epidemiological analysis ofIrish veterinary journal · 2019Article
- Identification of a phenoloxidase- and melanin-dependent defence mechanism in Achatina fulica infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum.Parasites & vectors · 2018Article
- Canine angiostrongylosis in Sweden: a nationwide seroepidemiological survey by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and a summary of five-year diagnostic activity (2011-2015).Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2017Article
- GIS-supported epidemiological analysis on canine Angiostrongylus vasorum and Crenosoma vulpis infections in Germany.Parasites & vectors · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAngiostrongylus vasorum is a highly pathogenic metastrongylid nematode affecting dogs, which uses gastropod molluscs as intermediate hosts. The geographical distribution of the parasite appears to be heterogeneous or patchy and understanding of the factors underlying this heterogeneity is limited. In this study, we compared the species of gastropod present and the prevalence of A. vasorum along a rural-urban gradient in two cities in the south-west United Kingdom.
methodsThe study was conducted in Swansea in south Wales (a known endemic hotspot for A. vasorum) and Bristol in south-west England (where reported cases are rare). In each location, slugs were sampled from nine sites across three broad habitat types (urban, suburban and rural). A total of 180 slugs were collected in Swansea in autumn 2012 and 338 in Bristol in summer 2014. A 10 mg sample of foot tissue was tested for the presence of A. vasorum by amplification of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) using a previously validated real-time PCR assay.
resultsThere was a significant difference in the prevalence of A. vasorum in slugs between cities: 29.4% in Swansea and 0.3% in Bristol. In Swansea, prevalence was higher in suburban than in rural and urban areas. Comparing the sampled slug fauna, Arion rufus was found in greater numbers in Swansea than Bristol, and was commonly infected (prevalence 41%). This, alongside the timing of slug collections in summer rather than autumn, could explain low infection prevalence in the Bristol sample. In the absence of Ar. rufus as a preferred host for A. vasorum, Ar. flagellus and Limacus maculatus appear to act as versatile hosts that are present in suburban and urban areas in Swansea (prevalence in Ar. flagellus 33%; in L. maculatus 44%) and in Bristol (prevalence in Ar. flagellus 0.9%). These slug species might provide A. vasorum with an alternative vehicle to reach the final host, when the main host Ar. rufus is scarce or absent.
conclusionWe conclude that the composition of the slug fauna varies spatially, and that this could help explain patchiness in the prevalence of A. vasorum. A suburban peak was found in the prevalence of infection in intermediate hosts, perhaps explained by a higher density of competent intermediate and/or definitive hosts.
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