Angiostrongylus cantonensis

An·gi·o·stron·gy·lus can·ton·en·'sis

lungworm of rodents, a species transmitted by infected mollusks ingested by rodents; larvae develop in the brain and migrate to lungs, where the adult worms are found; thought to cause eosinophilic encephalomeningitis in humans in the Pacific basin; larvae have been removed from cerebrospinal fluid and the anterior chamber of the eye from people in Thailand who had eaten raw snails.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis

A filiform nematode for which rats are the definitive host; humans become infected by ingesting third-stage larvae in raw or poorly cooked intermediate hosts (e.g., snails, slugs) or transport hosts (e.g., freshwater prawns, frogs, fish and planarians), or by consuming fresh produce contaminated with either of the above hosts. A. cantonensis rarely infects humans, even in regions of endemic infection (e.g., Southeast Asia or the Pacific Basin; it is, nonetheless, the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in humans.