VietNamNet Bridge – Meningitis caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a very rare disease, is becoming increasingly common in Vietnam, said Dr. Nguyen Van De, Chief of the Parasitology Faculty of Hanoi Medical University.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis (photo:picasaweb)

From 1995-2000, Vietnam recorded only 15 cases, but so far this year, the number is 5. All are children under 15 years old in Hanoi.

The children caught the disease when the Angiostrongylus cantonensis worm got into their brain, causing meningitis. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, convulsions, squinty eyes.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis can appear in encephalospinal juice and also in lens crystallins and lung arteries.

There are over 20 species of Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which parasitise in mice, two of which cause meningitis in humans.

(Source: LD, SK&DS)