Improved Molecular Detection of<i>Angiostrongylus cantonensis</i>in Mollusks and Other Environmental Samples with a Species-Specific Internal Transcribed Spacer 1-Based TaqMan Assay

Abstract

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the most common cause of human eosinophilic meningitis. Humans become infected by ingesting food items contaminated with third-stage larvae that develop in mollusks. We report the development of a real-time PCR assay for the species-specific identification of A. cantonensis in mollusk tissue.