Angiostrongylus vasorum
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| Angiostrongylus vasorum | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Nematoda |
| Class | Secernentea |
| Order | Strongylida |
| Super-family | Metastrongyloidea |
| Family | Angiostrongylidae |
| Genus | Angiostrongylus |
| Species | A. vasorum |
| Also known as: | Haemostrongylus vasorum |
Hosts
Definitive host: Dogs and foxes.
Intermediate host: Mainly snails and slugs.
It exists mainly in Western Europe - not established in the USA.
Identification
Angiostrongylus vasorum is a parasite of the family Angiostrongylidae. The adults are slender, and measure around 2cm in length. The males have a small bursa.
Life Cycle
The adults are ovo-viviparous. The adults lay eggs in the pulmonary arteries. The eggs then hatch in the capillaries. The first stage larvae migrate into the alveoli and then the trachea. They are swallowed, enter the intestinal system and are then past in the faeces. The intermediate host then become infected, which later infect the definitive host.
The larvae then develop in the definitive host, and migrate via the mesenteric lymph nodes, and the blood where they affect the heart, primarily the right ventricle.
Adults establish within the pulmonary arterial tree and can lead to pulmonary thrombosis and pulmonary hypertension. The clinical disease is Angiostrongylosis.