First Report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) Infections in Invasive Rodents from Five Islands of the Ogasawara Archipelago, Japan

A new endemic focus of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a parasitic nematode linked to human neuro-angiostrongyliasis, has been identified in the Hahajima group of islands within Japan's Ogasawara Archipelago. The study, conducted between 2010 and 2011, detected A. cantonensis infections in 46 invasive rats (Rattus norvegicus) across five islands—Anejima, Meijima, Imoutojima, Hirajima, and Mukohjima. Molecular analysis confirmed the parasite's presence, revealing a single lineage shared with samples from Okinawa, Hawaii, and Brazil. While human cases remain unreported in the Ogasawara Islands, this discovery underscores potential public health risks due to the widespread distribution of the parasite in this UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.

Tokiwa, T., Hashimoto, T., Yabe, T., Komatsu, N., Akao, N., & Ohta, N. (2013). First Report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) Infections in Invasive Rodents from Five Islands of the Ogasawara Archipelago, Japan. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e70729. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070729