Abstract
Angiostrongylus costaricensis is a parasitic nematode and the causative agent of abdominal angiostrongyliasis (AA) in humans. This nematode was described in Costa Rica 50 years ago and since then it has been reported from the southern USA to northern Argentina and the Caribbean. The parasites have rodent definitive hosts that shed L1 larvae in their feces, and terrestrial mollusks as intermediate hosts that bear L3 in the fibromuscular tissues of the foot. Humans are accidental hosts, where presence of the parasite in mesenteric arteries leads to vasculitis and an intense granulomatous inflammatory eosinophilic reaction surrounding eggs or larvae located in the intestinal mucosa, preventing the release of L1 in feces.
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