Absence of angiostrongylid nematodes in wild non-flying small mammals in DUAS BOCAS BIOLOGICAL RESERVE, Cariacica, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

A search for angiostrongylid worms was performed in histological sections of viscera from 129 specimens of wild non-flying small mammals captured in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, municipality of Cariacica, Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. No intra-arterial worm was detected but probable filarid worms were found inside the bronchial tree of two animals, one specimen each of Metachirus nudicaudatus and Didelphis aurita. Cases of human infection both with Angiostrongylus costaricensis and Angiostrongylus cantonensis have already been reported from Cariacica in Espirito Santo, but there is no data on natural infection of non-human mammals. This report deals with a first attempt to identify angiostrongylid worms in animals from a Biological Reserve in the State of Espirito Santo.