The rat lungworm Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a nematode parasite that can cause potentially fatal eosinophilic meningitis in humans. The life cycle of A. cantonensis involves multiple hosts, with the most common terminal hosts being rodents and intermediate hosts comprising gastropods. One such gastropod is the invasive island apple snail Pomacea maculata, which is native to South America but is currently established in several states in the USA, including South Carolina. It has been identified as an intermediate host for A. cantonensis in several locations in Louisiana. The ability of the island apple snail to serve as an intermediate host for A. cantonensis poses significant potential threats to human health, yet no studies to date have determined the prevalence of this parasite in island apple snails in South Carolina. The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of occurrence of A. cantonensis in South Carolina island apple snails by using a real-time PCR assay. One-hundred individuals from each of three distinct stormwater retention ponds were tested, and no positive detections were found. Determining the prevalence of A. cantonensis in island apple snails is critical in accurately informing the public as to the risks involved in handling and/or consuming island apple snails.

中文翻译：

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美国南卡罗来纳州入侵岛苹果螺中鼠肺虫寄生虫的发生频率

大鼠肺虫广州管圆线虫是一种线虫寄生虫，可导致人类潜在致命的嗜酸性粒细胞脑膜炎。A. cantonensis 的生命周期涉及多个宿主，最常见的终端宿主是啮齿动物，中间宿主包括腹足动物。一种这样的腹足动物是侵入性岛屿苹果蜗牛 Pomacea maculata，它原产于南美洲，但目前在美国的几个州（包括南卡罗来纳州）建立。它已在路易斯安那州的几个地方被确定为广州曲霉菌的中间宿主。岛苹果螺作为广州蛔虫中间宿主的能力对人类健康构成了重大的潜在威胁，但迄今为止还没有研究确定这种寄生虫在南卡罗来纳州岛苹果螺中的流行率。本研究的目的是通过实时 PCR 分析调查南卡罗来纳岛苹果蜗牛中广州 A. cantonensis 的发生频率。对来自三个不同雨水蓄水池中的每一个的一百个人进行了测试，没有发现阳性检测结果。确定岛苹果蜗牛中广州 A. cantonensis 的流行率对于准确告知公众处理和/或食用岛苹果蜗牛所涉及的风险至关重要。