The presence of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Viti Levu, Fiji

Abstract

Wild rats and molluscs were examined for Angiostrongylus cantonensis infection on Viti Levu, Fiji. A. cantonensis were recovered from 29–6% (16/54) of Rattus rattus and 59–5% (25/42) of R. exulans. A. cantonensis like larval nematodes were found in all of four slugs, Laevicaulis alte, and ten of 20 unidentified land snails. The larvae developed to adult A. cantonensis in the pulmonary arteries of laboratory rats 40 to 42 days after ingestion. This is the first record of A. cantonensis in Fiji.